Installing the flywheel is literally the last step before test firing this motor, and when lightly tightening the nut, it is binding on something and will not rotate. I'm wondering if I have the armature plate and support ring installed correctly? The support ring can really only be mounted one way due to how the screw hole configuration aligns with the holes in the powerhead. When I place the armature plate assembly onto the top housing of the powerhead, the 2" I.D. brass sleeve center hole on the plate assembly only seats down approx. 1/16" or so. The thickness of the sleeve is 1/2" so only a small portion of it is actually making any contact with the upper crankshaft housing.
The crankshaft rotates fine when using only the flywheel nut and a wrench, and the plate assembly when seated, turns very smoothly also. It "looks" like the plate assembly should be seating lower onto the powerhead, but I failed to notice this when I took everything apart. I've done all the engine work up to this point with the plugs out, and only after re-installing the plugs did I attempt to attach the flywheel. I thought maybe that was causing the binding, but after removing them it's doing the same thing.
Hopefully someone here has run into this same problem, because I'm about out of ideas. Just to add, when tightening the flywheel nut, I'd give it a half turn and then rotate the FW. After the nut is just snug, the binding occurs within 1-1/2 full turns of the nut, so I never really tightened it much at all.
The crankshaft rotates fine when using only the flywheel nut and a wrench, and the plate assembly when seated, turns very smoothly also. It "looks" like the plate assembly should be seating lower onto the powerhead, but I failed to notice this when I took everything apart. I've done all the engine work up to this point with the plugs out, and only after re-installing the plugs did I attempt to attach the flywheel. I thought maybe that was causing the binding, but after removing them it's doing the same thing.
Hopefully someone here has run into this same problem, because I'm about out of ideas. Just to add, when tightening the flywheel nut, I'd give it a half turn and then rotate the FW. After the nut is just snug, the binding occurs within 1-1/2 full turns of the nut, so I never really tightened it much at all.