Washing Machine experts! - making a grinding sound when on "spin"

If there is a female in the house, have you checked for a missing bra wire - very common and makes a similar grinding / scratching noise. (Voice of experience here).

Sounds like maybe motor bearings gone and under load spinning faster it gets louder ?
When you spin it by hand does it feel notchy or is it smooth ?

Have you taken out the sump pump filter and checked there's nothing trapped in it or the in vanes of the pump impeller behind it, since the pump will run when the machine spins, but not when you turn by hand?

How old is the machine, and does it have a split tub? Any play in the bearings before the tub moves if you lift the drum?

I suppose you could take the element out in case something has got tangled around it and get a rather restricted view in the bottom of the tub.

I’d second the underwire from a bra , they slip through the holes in the drum , but if you spin it really slowly and shine a torch in you can see the end of them sometimes , quite often the ends are a little wider than the rest of the wire and painted white ( no idea why! ) . If you find one then it’s normally just gentle wiggling to pull it back though .