I posted this on honda-tech but maybe someone here has an answer or suggestions on this?

During the off-season I had a new final drive installed in my Prelude and just completed the engine install. When I go to turn the rotor, it is very difficult to move. If I put a tire on it, I am able to turn the wheel with two hands but it is still pretty tough to do. The shop that installed the tranny set it to the same clearances as it was before, and used a 0 backlash (whatever that means). In the past, I do not recall it being that difficult to turn the wheels but am now second guessing myself. Maybe it was? I really can’t say for sure.

Someone mentioned that with my Honda tranny especially with this type of LSD (clutch type from OPM), it is preloaded and normal to be somewhat hard to turn. I used the tranny with the LSD installed the past two years, so am confident that is not causing this new possible issue. I triple confirmed that it was in neutral. (The entire car is off the ground, the brakes are not causing the wheels to be hard to turn, the hub bearings turn properly, and the tranny has fluid in it.) Right now I'm trying to figure out if there really is an issue with the tranny / how the final drive was installed, or if this is just normal. I asked the guy who did the final drive installation if it needs to wear in, but he said that really isn’t the case..

Not that it really plays into the answer to my question, but the shop that did this really knows their stuff and I do trust their work. If it came down to it, they would also make things right.

One other thing, although for this I don't believe it is causing the issue. When I mated the tranny, I didn't install the release bearing. See what happens when I try to work on the car myself. Doh! Since the car is in neutral, that shouldn't have anything to do with this issue. Or would it? How difficult should I expect it to be to turn the wheels? I’m on a tight schedule and shipping the tranny to him would really mess things up timing wise.

Any other thoughts or suggestions? I’m not sure what to do at this point.