yep i did. had the oil pan, side and valve cover off. even had the head off just to check the condition of the pistons. it was always tough to turn by hand like i described and i was hoping the starter would be able to overcome that and get it running.
didn't see anything when the oilpan was off. the lifters were all good none of them were stuck or sticking. push rods were all straight. only thing i haven't removed yet is the timing cover but i don't think the problem would be there.
cylinder walls looked pretty good. no rust where the pistons had been sitting.
if it was a bearing it would be hard to move all the time wouldn't it? that's why i was thinking it was the piston rings. pretty sure i am going to have to remove oil pan and etc to figure this out. was hoping someone knew here what the likely culprit is
