I'd start by checking the dogs. No, not your pets (though you might want to check them, too. They're always up to something!) Dogs are toothed cams that go in the top of the agitator and engage the agitator with the shaft. They're plastic, and wear out over time, especially if you do big loads.


This is assuming the motor runs and everything. To get to the dogs, open the lid and take the top off the agitator. Mine just pops off, but some unscrew. Then on mine there are teeth around the inside of the center post of the agitator. The dogs engage with those, and are just visible under the thing in the center. There's a nut in the center that is sort of cross-shaped (using "nut" in a very broad sense). One needs a special tool to remove that, but I managed to unscrew it some other way. I forget how. It's not torqued on there very tight. Remove that and the dogs will be visible. They're shaped like commas, with the teeth on the outside. If they're bad, the teeth will be worn. When you replace them, check in the area where they go to make sure no pieces of the teeth are left in there. If they are, suck them out with a vacuum or take the whole agitator off to get the pieces out. It's not the end of the world if they're in there, but they can cause other parts to wear prematurely.

I tend to ramble on a lot. Replacing the dogs is actually a pretty easy job.