i bought a ys1 from the junk yard. took it home opened it up to make sure it wasnt trash. everything was perfect inside. had a very hard time getting the case back closed. i could get the snap ring completely seated , but the case was still an 1/8 inch open.(yes i had the spinning ring on the main shaft at 12 o'clock. took it to a professional. he got it togetther but it doesnt spin freely. had to put a pressure plate on it to get it to spin. is this normal any input would be greatly appreciated

 

your doing it wrong. you should be able to spin it by hand most likely the snap ring didn't completely fall into the grove or you forgot to align the snap ring so it would go around the bearing when your opening the snap ring with the pliers before having the case fall flap. trust me if you cannot spin the shaft by hand either the shaft was laying down and was pressured up you need to have it hang down so the snap ring falls in easier. well i hope im wrong what ive said. But this is from my personal experience, and i broke the bearing by putting pressure onto the case after seeing the ring not falling in because it was not align and would not open further. But as you mention you said the snap ring seated on the counter shaft and you align the main shaft ring, and was the counter shaft spaced and not hitting the table?? if so it could had cause it to leave the little gap since it does move a bit.