On Mon, 12 Dec 2016 15:54:49 -0500, Seymore4Head
wrote:

The spin cycle stops. I can open the lid and close it again and the
spin starts but will only run for a few seconds and stops.

I assume this is the motor going bad.

Any less expensive solutions?

If it gets that far through the cycle OK, I bet the motor is OK. If it
is an old machine without the microprocessor, I would start with the
lid switch. On the old ones, you can just bypass it to test.
It might be the timer but opening and closing the lid would not do
anything to the timer contacts that just banging on the top would not
do.