Hi Cyberjack,
Thank for your input, not sure how the bearings failed because the input shaft pulley works by applying pressure to the acceleration pedal, without pressure applied it should free spin making this act like natural allowing gear changes.
I have found this listing on ebay for a needle bearing
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Peerless...-Y-810-/251381474407?hash=item3a8780e467 , the picture looks like the bearing is longer than it is wide and the bearing housing that I have managed to remove is 22mm wide by 14mm long which is why I said I could fit 3 of these to my input shaft. I will ask the ebay seller how long the needle bearing is they have for sale.
The same ebay seller as this input shaft for sale,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tecumseh-Peerless-Shaft-776098-/251761795645?hash=item3a9e2c223d the shaft as an extra circlip grove near the spline slot end of the shaft this might be because it is a universal shaft allowing for different casting lengths. It may also work with my gearbox which is a model 715A, I have found a complete 715A gearbox for sale on the UK ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Peerless...-Mower-/311430681252?hash=item4882b712a4 for 75 pounds but its condition does not look too good.
I am hoping the needle bearing used within my gearbox were the wrong size because they have badly scored the aluminium casting (put a grove in it the length of the needle bearing) and longer bearings would sit in a position where the casting is not damaged hopefully bridging the scored part of the casting. If this does not work I would need to replace the bottom part of the gearbox casting and then I might be better off buying a replacement gearbox.
