To close the loop and if anyone else has this same issue, I'll provide what I did:
On this particular mower, the brake pad comes as an entire assembly. It was about $17 at the local John Deere shop that also handles Honda, Exmark, etc. I removed the sparkplug boot so I did not get an unexpected start. I then removed the four nuts that hold the gas tank assembly and flywheel/fan cover on. I had to remove the fuel line in order to completely get the tank out of the way. Fortunately, the tank was already empty, so I only had a tablespoon or two of gas leak out on some rags I put underneath the line. With the tank off and flywheel cover off, I was able to access the flywheel. The flywheel is attached to the shaft by on 3/4 " nut. I used a strap wrench to hold the flywheel while I loosened the nut. With the nut off I was ready to remove the flywheel. I went to the local Auto Zone and rented a two jaw gear puller. There are indicators on the flywheel mark "puller here" to show you where to put the jaws on the aluminum flywheel. I slowly cranked down on the puller, gave it a few taps and it came off with a "bang". The flywheel brake assembly is now completely visible. I is held on by two bolts. The bolt towards the front of the mower is shorter then the one towards the rear. They are both 10mm. I removed the bolts, removed the kill switch spade connector, and the plastic keeper that holds the kill switch out of the way. The kill switch cable that runs up the handle was not too difficult to figure out if you hold your tongue right. Assembly was the reverse. Not a big job, but took a bit of nerve yanking the flywheel off. Good luck.
The motor was the 160.