Look it over carefully, to make sure there are no retaining rings holding the bearings in place. You might want to go back to parts site and have a look, also. Then "tap" them out from one side and then the other. If the bearings are not sealed on the inside, I'd clean them good and then spin them ... that's when a rough bearing will show up. At that point, you elect to get new bearings or repack and reuse. When installing the new or reinstalling the originals, tap them in with a socket or pipe to fit the outer circumference.

I would change the whole assembly. I hit a piece of rebar and bent the shaft on the mandrel. My mower was 12 yrs old so i changed both sides. As far as taking one apart, i have no idea.

There are no retaining rings on the parts list, so it looks like its just a press fit...hopefully. :) "Tap" is so much less fun of a word than "beat", but I'll tap I suppose. I ordered the housing & will give it a shot with just that. I know the shaft didn't bend because it still spins true with no wiggle...and the bearings were expensive little suckers so I figured I'll try reusing the old ones before I pay extra for new ones that may not be needed. Thanks for the help, wish me luck!

The last mandrel i bought for a tractor similar to yours, cost around $50 + tax. Certainly saved the day, and anything i might have done to try to save the old worn out bearings, would certainly have been a waste of time!
When "tightwad" Rusty Jones buys new stuff, it is a banner day! But, i figgered i had been further ahead doing that!

I just got two heavy duty mandrels (including upper lower heavy duty bearings, heavy duty housing, shaft and bolts for pulley and blade) at half that price from Grisham's.
It was made by Oregon for many Sears, Poulan tractors including yours, I believe (based upon that number).
The heavy duty version is 82-014
After seeing how much easier the new ones rotated, I was glad I replaced both (including the one that I had not damaged).
Thay also have a cheaper one if you are just trying to get 'er goin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grishams Lawn & Garden Superstore

All well and good, but, the tractor owner had grass as high as an elephant's eye, and didn't want to wait for 3 days to a week, for the parts to arrive via pony express. So, i bought them locally, to expedite the repair! Good to know about that supplier, though. I'm going to keep the address for future use.
On the same note, i have a used mower deck that was very tight, the mandrels were hardly turning. I drilled a hole thru the seal under the pulley, then squirted motor oil in there, which helped free them up! The oil worked its way down to the bottom bearing, too.

Did you check out eBay?

Don

Here is a link that might be useful: eBay mandrel

rustyj:
Glad to hear you got her goin'!

I ordered over the net from that place because of the price and the heavier duty Oregon mandrel assemblies. Sears was literally three times as much for lesser quality OEM mandrels, which surprised me.
This is the second time I caught Sears with an inflated price on parts. The last one was some stainless fridge panels where they were $200 bucks higher than the manufacturer who made the fridge they sell. I love the convenience and service they provide at Sears parts, but I am going to be checking their prices on everything from now on.