my 8 yr. old front loading HE washer will slowly spin a few times, then reverse direction and not spin fast enough to wash the clothing or spin the water out of the tub. what part needs to be repaired or replaced?. i cannot afford to hire an appliance repair person, but my son is quite handy to fix things and will help me out if he knows what to look for.
Usually spin problems on these models are caused by a bad speed control board, this part here
It is an expensive part, but you can return it if it does not fix the problem.
You may want to consider a new or used machine though, if you can use a top loader a good basic model can be had for $300-$325 in our area.