Thanks for the tip Carl. I'm sure somebody will benefit from the info. Amazing what a difference a few thou can make on critical tolerance fits.

Bill

dont be to sure that was the problem, i opened a 5 speed like that, cleaned it out, greased, and it bound as well when bolts were tightened down, i bet you i opened that thing up 20 times and checked and rechecked and checked some more, then all at once it was fine, no idea what was out of place as i spent about a whole day trying to find anything out of place, never did. But i wont open that darn thing ever again either

I had the exact same problem, also I need this transaxle for a racing mower project. I have a 920-018 series 7 speed. It gets SUPER hard to turn after you bolt down everything.