Got the 75 Evinrude back together!!

I got my 1975 evinrude completely put back together after buying it for 75 bucks and finding out the crankshaft was broken. I got a used powerhead from a really nice guy in florida. Its all put back together, not one extra bolt or part. I changed the lower unit oil, rebuilt the carb reset the points and new spark plugs. The problem I'm having though is when I'm trying to pull start it, its pretty tough to pull and seems as if I can only get the flywheel to turn over once or twice because of the resistance. The flywheel and engine turn over relatively easy by its self, as does the recoil starter. But when used together its much harder. Any ideas? It wouldn't have anything to do with the powerhead sitting for a while and maybe since there hasn't been any fuel ran through it to lubricate the cylinders? That's just a rookie guess. Any help or ideas would be great!

Re: Got the 75 Evinrude back together!!

What size engine. Pull the plugs and mist some lube in and try to pull with plugs out. Should tell you if it is compression. Be sure an have some water running to the pump. Is it in neutral?

Re: Got the 75 Evinrude back together!!

Sorry its a 9.9. I have already tried pulling it without the spark plugs and its much easier and I can also get the flywheel to turn a few times rather then just once or twice like I can with the spark plugs in. Is that just the compression I'm fighting? It just seems much harder then it should be. I feel like with the spark plugs in, I can't get the motor to turn over enough times or fast enough to start it. Like I said though, I can turn the engine by hand pretty easily by itself, and I can pull the start easily by itself but when used together its got a lot of resistance. Maybe it is just the compression and I need to stop being a panzy? My 1960 10 horse johnson isn't nearly as hard to start though