Replacing Keurig Entry Needle – A Simple Guide

Damaged or misaligned entry needle …

In this guide, we will be replacing the entry needle and the top assembly of your Keurig. Compared to some of the other repairs that these brewers require, this is relatively straightforward. It should take around 20 minutes to complete.

Problem to Solve

Creating a larger hole in the K-Cup or coffee grounds in your cup can result from a damaged or misaligned entry needle or top assembly. If a re-alignment has not worked, nor a new entry needle gasket,  then a new entry needle might do the trick.

Parts and Equipment

Parts

You are best to purchase the entry needle as a complete unit, attached to its top assembly tubing and mounting. We buy our replacement parts through Amazon.com or eBay.com and have found both excellent in range and price.

The part you require is pictured below and costs typically around $20. If you would like more details and a comprehensive list of replacement parts for your Keurig, have a look over at a replacement parts page for more information.

Equipment

The only piece of equipment you are going to need is:

• a Philips screwdriver.

Steps To Take

Step 1

The first step is to switch the brewer off; we don’t want any surprises as we work away. Make sure we are working on a nice flat and hard surface. We like to have the brewer on top of an old towel, as this helps to absorb any water leakage and means the plastic surfaces don’t get scratched when we place them down.

Take the water reservoir off and the drip tray to avoid them falling off and getting damaged or getting in the way.

Step 2

Lay the brewer down on its back and pull the handle up so that it opens the portion pack holder (as if you were going to place a K-Cup into the machine). Take the K-Cup holder out (the K-Cup holder and portion pack holder are the same things).

Looking now up where the entry needle is, you will see this part of the brewer is held together with two screws, as pictured below. We need to remove these two screws. Once out, keep them aside, as we will need them to put the new entry needle assembly back in place.

Step 3

You shouldn’t have to remove the handle, but instead, the top assembly cover should lift out and forward. Be gentle with this; it can be a little fiddly but should come away nicely.

You can see the tubing runs from the boiler unit, along with the top assembly, and into the entry needle. Once the brewer heats the water, you can select a cup size. When you place a K-Cup into the portion pack holder, the air pump forces the water from the boiler unit, along with the exposed tubing you now see, through the entry needle and into the K-Cup.

Step 4

We now need to remove the tubing from its connections at both ends, from the entry needle and the top of the boiler. It is easier to do this with the tubing still secured with the two screws you see on the part, so we’ll remove the screws shortly.

Gently separate the tubing from the boiler unit first; we like to use a flat head screwdriver for this. First, move the plastic collar up and once that is off, remove the tubing from the connector. Keep hold of the plastic collar piece as we will use that on the new top assembly section you have purchased (unless, of course, the one you have purchased has come with them, but they often don’t).

Move to the other end of the tubing and disconnect it from the entry needle connector. Using the same approach before a flat head screwdriver, remove the plastic collar and the tube itself from the connector.

Step 5

The last part of the detachment process is to remove the two screws now securing the tube to the top assembly. Again, hold onto these as we will use them to attach the new tubing section.

With step 5, the tubing and entry needle sections should come away, leaving you now with the space to piece in your newly purchased section. You are now halfway through replacing the Keurig entry needle.

Step 6

We find it easier with this process to follow the steps in reverse order. So feed the tube section through the entry needle space and lay this into place. This should bring the entry needle and gasket into place in the top housing. With the two screws you had from Step 4, attach the entry needle section into place. Don’t be too forceful with the screws; they don’t needle a gorilla grip but rather tight enough to stop the entry needle from moving around.

Step 7

Take the end of the suction tube, make sure the plastic collar is in place, and attach it to the boiler connector. Then bring the plastic collar back down and ensure a good tight fit. There is a lot of pressure coming through this coupling, so we want to ensure this connection withstands it.

Step 8

With the entry needle secure in its housing and the tubing fitting back in place, now we need to secure the tubing with the two small screws you had from Step 5.

Step 9

The last step is to place the cover back on top. Run a brew cycle through the machine first before hiding it all away with the top cover. If there is any problem, say from a loose connection, it will be much easier to spot this now.

If you would like to take this extra step, place the water reservoir and the drip tray back in place. Get some water into the water reservoir and plug the brewer back in, and switch it on. You can run just a water-only cycle, but we recommend using a K-Cup to ensure the correct water pressures.

Step 10

Once you have had a test run and are happy, secure the top cover in place with the two screws.

And that is it. Hopefully, this guide has helped you in replacing the entry needle on your Keurig brewer. If it hasn’t, please get in touch with us using the Contact Us section, and we can see what the next step might be to get you back to making coffee.