I have a Ariens mower with a Briggs & Stratton Intek mower. It
appears that the crankshaft will not turn. Here is what happened and
what I know so far.

I took out the mower for the first time this season. Usually the
mower takes 2 or 3 pulls to start. After the 2nd pull I realized that
my allergies and headache had the better of me and I was not pulling
the rope very hard. So I tried again. The rope came out as usual,
the engine didn't start, and the rope went back in. So I grapped it
again and when I pulled I found that the rope would not come out.
Turns out it won't budge.

I assumed that the rewind starter had somehow gotten fouled up since I
think in trying to pull hard I pulled too far and the rope handle flew
out of my hand.

Turns out the rewind starter is just fine. I removed it and it seems
ok. So, I held the bail brake and tried turning the flywheel (both
with the plug in and with it out) and it won't turn. Next I checked
that the flywheel brake was actually disengaging. It appears to work
fine. When the bail brake is held, the flywheel brake disengages.
However the flywheel will not turn. I still have the flywheel cup and
nut attached, so I am assuming that the crankshaft is not turning for
some reason.

I am very new to engine repairs. So, I could be missing something
basic here. The part that has me really curious is how could the
crankshaft get stuck from just pulling the rewind cord. Note that the
mower previously was working fine and in the first few attempts at
starting, the cord pulled normally. Since I was not feeling well, I
know it is impossible that I pulled the cord extremely hard. So it
doesn't seem that I could have bent the crankshaft.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what the problem could be?

Thanks,
Door