I removed the inner and outer tub, cleaned them thoroughly (nasty smelly layer of gunk on them). There was nothing obstructing the tub.

I removed the water pump from the motor and removed the motor from the unit. So the motor is now isolated from the water pump and everything else (gear case, clutch, brakes, drive block, tub, everything). It's just sitting by itself connected to the wiring. I cut a piece of wire from my surround sound and closed the circuit simulating that the lid is closed.

I can now operate the on/off cycle knob and make the motor spin without any external resistance. What I'm finding is this:

When I turn the control knob to the agitate position the motor comes on spinning in the counter clockwise direction just fine. When I place the knob in the drain/spin position I just hear a humming sound from the motor but it does not turn at all. Eventually it gets hot enough where some sort of thermostat turns it off to prevent damage. However, if I give the motor a little spin to help it get started then it does spin in the clockwise direction just fine.

So, the motor, totally isolated from any other mechanical part, works fine in the counterclockwise direction in the agitate mode. But, it needs a little help in order to spin in the clockwise direction that drains the water and spins the tub.

I even connected the pump to the motor without connecting the motor to the rest of the unit and turned it on. I got the humming sound and gave it a little push on the coupler side and it came on and successfully drained all the water that was in the tub.

So, the motor works fine in one direction but not the other unless you help it begin to spin. Is that a bad capacitor? Are there two capacitors? one for each direction of spin? Where are they located? Or is it a problem with the cycle knob control or timer control?

I'd rather not replace the entire motor if I don't have to.

Thanks!

Ed