Doesn't agitate or spin - Motor rotates too quickly and creates buring smell

[Bowhunter]

My GE Profile Washing machine is less than 2 years old.  When I opened the front panel, I can see the water filling and draining fine, but when it tries to agitate or spin, the rod that the belt is connected to turns back and forth very, very quickly - only about 1/2" in each direction.  The drum doesn't turn at all and eventually, there's smoke and a burning smell.  Do I need a new motor?  GE says they don't cover the motor after the first year.

Thanks for any help

Model WPRE6100G0WT

[Repair-man]

Remove the belt and run it some more. If the thing still smokes, etc. you know it is the motor and not a bad transmission.

[Bowhunter]

What's the easiest way to remove the belt?  There seems to be a lot of tension on it.   Do I need to remove the four bolts on the motor in order to do this?  Also, is the transmission separate from the motor/invertor?

[Repair-man]

If you are not familiar with the machine, here is the way to learn how it works:

GE TopLoad Manual

It shows how to check the motor, etc.

[Bowhunter]

Okay, I got the belt off.  Simple...thanks to your diagram.  The rod coming out of the bottom of the motor that held the belt still only rotated back and forth the exact same way even without the belt on.  I didn't notice any smoke this time, but I also didn't let it run as long.  Could that have been from the friction on the belt?  Does it still sound like the motor is the problem?

[Repair-man]

Bad motor. You confirmed it.

[Bowhunter]

I just ordered a new one from ApplianceProsParts.com and hopefully it will be here in a few days.  Thanks for your help!  I'll post if it was successful. 

[Bowhunter]

Ordered motor on Sunday night and got it on Tuesday afternoon.  Replaced the motor, re-attached the belt and now the washing machine is humming!  I'm so glad I found this forum and my husband is glad he didn't have to buy me a new washing machine!  Thanks so much for your help!

Now on to the icemaker...

[AJ]