Whirlpool front loading washer spinning problems

[godp1301]

I own a Whirlpool GHW9100LQ front loading washer. Here's my problem. On normal cycle, the washer won't spin the load properly. Even though I have selected high speed spin, the washer will only rotate for about 30 seconds at 100rpm on one side then the other. It seems to balance the load properly and drains properly but after a few seconds it starts vibrating a lot, stops spinning and continue with the cycle. A technician came over and though it wasn't draining properly. He replaced a pressure valve for 140$ but it didn't solve the problem. I removed the front panel and inspected the shocks and cement plates and everything seems OK. I've also ran the diagnostic provided by the manufacturer and everything was fine. The washer level is OK and I've also checked that it didn't rock in any direction. When empty, it spins perfectly getting to the ~1000rpm speed without any vibration at all but when a normal size load is in, it's like hell is breaking loose. What should I check now? Any hints would be greatly appreciated. Phil

[JWWebster]

Could be a warped main pulley. That would cause the washer brain to try weird stuff to rectify it.

[godp1301]

Wouldn't a warped main pulley makes the washer spins erratically even if it contains no clothes?
Like I stated before, the whirlpool self diagnostic didn't yield any interesting results. During this test, the washer spins at the maximum speed at around ~1000rpm. It ran perfectly without any vibrations and was really silent. It behaved exactly like the first day I got this washer.
It's been sitting in the same spot for the last 4 years and only developed this condition a few weeks ago. My first guess was to check the levelness since it may have changed during the years of operation but that wasn't the problem.
I'll take your advice and will have a look at the pulley tonight. I'll post back the result of my investigation.

Meanwhile, if any of you have other interesting ideas, please reply. If there's some other things I may check at the same time I'll do it instead of pulling this monster out of it spot over and over again;)

[godp1301]

One more thing, I have noticed that when spinning franticly, the drum moves a lot from front to back. By looking through the door window, I can clearly see that the drum lip is pushing against the rubber molding around the door.

[JWWebster]

Maybe you need a new shell

[scoteddie]

These little beauties can be bad for broken wires , either where they are secured with cable ties in various places or at the plugs from various components . a small amount of natural movement can be enough to make and break contacts , and the resulting faults can be many and varied .

[godp1301]

Thanks for the advice,

Yesterday, I have removed the top and back panels to inspect the washer. Everything seems OK. The main pulley isn't warped and the bearing on the back shell also looks good.
Strangely, the washer didn't vibrate violently as it use to. I'm suspecting that the drum may have made contact with the back panel.

BUT, there's still an issue. On the normal cycle, the washer won't spin. I though the washer was acting that way because of the vibration but it isn't the case. After the rinse cycle it starts to spin to stays at about 100-300 rpm for about a minute or so. Then the cycle completes. Afterward, I have selected the drain/spin cycle and it did spin properly (high rpm for about 3-5 minutes).

So it doesn't sound like it's a mechanical problem. What would be the cause of a washer that won't spin correctly only when the normal cycle is selected?

[Mr. Fix-It]

Did you remove the clean-out for the pump? It sounds like the washer is not draining quickly enough to get to high speed spin. Set the machine to rinse and spin and observe how fast the water comes out in the drain portion of the cycle it should come out at a fairly high volume and completely drain in about a minute.