Neither of the repair men actually changed the belt, however one of the guys was an 'authorized' Speed Queen warranty repair guy so he knows the machine well. He told me there was nothing wrong with the belt, said the motor was not running at the speed it should to have enough strength to power up a good spin, and also said the tub seal was leaking causing rusting on the outer tub which rust was visible all around the outside of the outer tub. He also told me the 'grinding' sound during wash cycle at times shows the transmission was shot. As I stated previously he told me even if the company covered the parts the labor would cost so much to rebuild the machine it was not worth it. I truly wish one of them could have fixed the machine since I have the matching dryer and have been pleased with it's performance until it started giving me trouble,, it still runs through the cycle but you can see and hear the spin is not at top speed. I have been now looking at replacing it, but may want to go with a machine that does not guzzle water as this one does, maybe an LG or Maytag top load, but I am not sure about their reliability either, however they have much higher spin speeds and use less water which is of interest to me. I originally did buy the Speed Queen expecting it to last as my other machines have, but since it did not I am considering other brands now for less water usage and higher spin speeds as the Speed Queen never did really spin out Jeans and clothing like that very well. They are also still only available in white where other brands are offering colors like Black Stainless which is nice because my machines are visible in the laundry room off the kitchen. I am torn between choices as many of the machines seem to be poorly made and the only one that seems sturdy is the LG top load which one of my relatives own so I have had first hand experience using it and I liked it. Funny how every brand I have mentioned to sales people and repair guys they all say 'stay away from that brand' no matter if it is Whirlpool, LG, Maytag or whatever and they say get a Speed Queen.....they all claim other brands simply won't last more than 3 to 6 years. and I have seen more Speed Queen washers being delivered to people lately too..... Thanks to everyone for their impressions here.