What Malcolm said...
I was going to suggest the same thing. It was a common error in the belt-drive washers to mis-install the drive block on the spin tube. The ears on the spin tube are meant to install into the notches/tabs on the drive block.
If the drive block has had the tabs sheared off, or the ears have gone bad on the spin tube, there won't be a way to mechanically link the spin tube to the drive block and basket, and this creates a nasty groaning sound, especially during breaking.
Since the design of the old belt-drive and the direct-drive machines are nearly identical in this specific area, it seems logical that this could happen on direct drives as well.
Gordon