Thomas,
The first thing that comes to mind: The thrust washer has dropped and was
subsequently pinched between the case and flywheel. This usually results in
damage to the case.  Careful application of he proper Dremel tool may repair
damage.

Ken"I hate it when that happens." Lewis
http://neksiwel.20m.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Wilsher" <tw67syncro@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 8:48 PM
Subject: [VANAGON] Crankshaft stuck?

> I'm in the process of changing the clutch on my '87 Syncro, and since
> the front crankshaft seal appeared to be original one I went ahead and
> changed that while I have the tranny droppped. However, when I
> proceeded to put the flywheel back on I was surprised to see that I
> didn't have to block the flywheel in any way when tightening the bolts
> back on, the way I had to do when I took the same flywheel off. I am
> completely unable to turn the flywheel with my hands, it seems frozen
> solid. Could this be due to anything I did when changing the
> crankshaft seal or taking the flywheel off? The shims behind the seal
> itself are all in place and in the same order as when I took the seal
> out , though they did seem to move around a bit when I put the new
> seal back on. The new seal is perfectly flush with the surrounding
> bellhousing, I installed it by pushing on the outer edge only.
> Any ideas? Am I just being paranoid? Certainly would hate to put the
> transmission back on and then find that the engine still won't turn...
>
> As an aside, I did try searching the archives, but it seems the search
> engine just times out these days. Any help is greatly appreciated.
>
> --Thomas
>