Why is my Kenmore washer making a loud grinding noise?

Hi! I was hoping that someone may be able to help us.

We live in an extremely old home, (and although I do not understand the specifics) and our washer drains through the same pipe that our sink does. Anyway, we recently had a leaky pipe in our house replaced

( I'm not certain whether this has anything to do with our problem or not) but since then it seems as though our washer has been malfunctioning. The very first time we used it after the pipe fix, it began making this odd noise. We noticed shortly after that it was stopping itself mid- cycle. Today I tried to wash clothes, but the cycle stopped after wash, began making the grinding noise again, and then stopped the cycle completely. The washer continued to emit a loud grinding noise so I eventually tried to shut it off, but was unable to. I unplugged it and plugged it back in, and the cycle light and lidlock light came back on, but it did not start. Instead, the grinding noise started once again. We finally got it to turn back on, but now it is emitting a smell similar to that of rotten eggs. We really cannot afford to take our clothes to the laundry mat, nor afford a costly washer repair. Does anyone know what may be causing this issue? Any information would be greatly appreciated, thanks!