I am trying to help my mother fix her washing machine....I belive it is a direct drive top load whirlpool from my research. When the spin cycle is selected it will not spin the tub and will make a weird sounding noise! What would be the first area to check and/or replace first? Would the clutch assembly need to be replaced or does something in the gears. Does anyone know what is the most common problem for these types of washers?

If it fails to agitate during the wash period, you have a busted coupler and probably bad brake shoes. Do the tranny coupler test in my sticky above, replacing direct drive brake shoes for info.