I have an old (1986), Whirlpool Design 2000 washer which has
never failed until now. The symptom is that during agitation,
the agitator (a single-piece design) moves in one direction
only, rather than back and forth. This causes grinding noises
and clothes trappage at the agitator base. All the other cycles
work fine. During spin, the agitator spins freely as it should,
and there is no oil or clutch dust coming out the bottom of
the machine.

I have one opinion that this is likely a transmission failure
and if so I need to junk the thing. Is it possible that
there's some lesser problem in the agitator mechanism (dogs,
ratchets, etc.) that is causing this? I'm trying to evaluate
if it's worth having a go at repairing it.

Thanks for any advice,

Steve