Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I am having difficulty accessing the impeller bearing of an old Toro 7/24 snowblower (serial number 38050).  I cracked the machine into two sections and removed the pully from the impeller, to expose the end of the impeller shaft (please link to the below photo). As seen in the photo, there is a small, long, rectangular piece of metal stuck to the shaft. I would like to slide the old impeller bearing off of the shaft, but can't because of this small, long, rectangular piece of metal. Any advice from someone who has dealt with this type of problem before would be really appreciated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56659718@N07/5233026762/