Sounds like a faulty transmission. Tilt machine back and remove the belts. Rotate center pulley CCW by hand. If it binds and can't be rotated and there is nothing under the agitator, then the transmission is bad.

Eric

You should try it with the belts off. It's possible that the drain pump is binding. The pulleys run in different directions depending on whether you are in spin or agitate so the pump could be working ok in spin direction but not in agitate direction.

Eric

The only function of the brake is to prevent the tub from moving around during agitation and to quickly stop the tub after spin. The clutch (inside the transmission) is only engaged during spin. I would take the transmission out so you can take it apart and find the problem.

Eric

Machine is all back together and working great now!!
Thank you Eric (Fairbank56) for your GENEROUS advise. Without you and the YouTube video I couldn't have done it!

I didn't want to say anything before, but I am a 47 yr old woman! I know all women aren't like me (and NO I don't look like I should be a man), but more women could do these things if they believed in themselves and were treated no differently. This is me:
[IMG]http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcM3LNk1YuGjl4[/IMG]

http://share.shutterfly....come?sid=0AcM3LNk1YuGjl4

Thanks again. This forum was AWESOME!!!!
Sheila

I came upon both this thread as well as the post here: http://forum.appliancepartspros...transmission-repair.html which described exactly the problem I was having with my 31 year old Maytag LA712. Looking at the picture of the shaft posted by OzarkHillBill67, it looks likes her machine has the newer orbital transmission whereas my machine has the older helical transmission, but the problem was similar so I took a crack at it and, while I have not finished the project because I am waiting for a gasket to arrive, I believe that I have the problem licked.

In my case, the machine would spin and empty the water but would not agitate. I removed the inner and outer tub and left the transmission in place. With the transmission in place, I was able to remove the top of the transmission and found, just like others, that the output shaft was extremely difficult to turn. I removed the output shaft from the case. (Note: Removal of the pin which holds the gear on the output shaft requires a press. I happen to have one so I was able to do this. Without the press, damage to the gear and yourself is the most likely outcome. Even with the press, this operation has safety risks.) Once the shaft was out of the case, I was able to clean it up. I did this by putting the shaft in a lathe and going over it with some steel wool and kerosene. (Again, this lathe usage is something that should not be done by someone who does not know what they are doing, and if you know what you are doing, you are smart enough to know not to do this. Think about this!). After cleaning up the shaft, I could fit it back into the housing and it would spin freely. I reassembled the output shaft and transmission top using a new O-ring seal (outside of the case, below the collar on the shaft), again with the help of a press. The same safety warning regarding the use of the press applies here as well. I also used some kerosene to clean up the transmission housing top. (Again, careful with the solvents.) Additionally, I emptied the transmission of the 31 year old oil and have some new transmission oil ready for when the transmission is reassembled. I am now awaiting the arrival of the transmission gasket and I am expecting some good results.

Reagrds