I have a Maytag Centennial washer that has recently been having agitator issues. Items are wrapping themselves around the agitator until it eventually gets so tight the agitator stops moving and the wash stops. I then have to carefully pry/un-knot my wet garments from the agitator. This seems to happen most with heavier loads such as bed sheets or pants. I've tried googling this issue but am not having much luck. Most of what i'm finding tends to say it's being loaded improperly. I've been washing my own items for years and never had this issue before so I really don't think how i'm loading the machine being the problem.

Any ideas? I'm hesitant to call a repairman because it's an older washing. I'm not sure how much I want to spend having this fixed when I can buy a new one for $500. That being said, I hate to dispose of something that could have been an easy fix. I'm must not sure how to identify what the problem is. I have basic repair skills so I feel if I can find the issue I can likely fix it myself for the cost of parts.