My Speed Queen (Amana) 2-speed washer (15 years old) cuts out at the beginning of the spin cycle. It starts to spin the tub and then quits. After a wait of several minutes the motor will try again. If the machine is turned off to allow a complete cool down, the intermittent spin recurs when turned back on. I replaced the worn out belts and the pump (bad bearing). I also replaced the timer. In this model the spin cycle starts with a full tub of water so the motor has to grunt to spin all that mass. There is no clutch to allow pump-out before the spin. The motor reverses to spin and this activates the pump-out. Agitating seems normal. The brake works fine. When moving the belt by hand the tub can be spun easily (when empty).
It seems to me that the most likely culprits are the motor switch that switches off the start winding or the thermal protection switch. The centrifugal activator of the motor switch oves freely and can be seen to move when the motor starts. I suppose the switch could be damaged inside though. What about the thermal protector? Can it be replaced? Is the thermal protector built in to the motor or is it part of the motor switch? It looks easy to replace the motor switch. Is belt tension an issue? There is limited adjustment of tension and the belt has a spring loaded idler pulley anyway. Thanks for your thoughts. Milt