Ol'Shirley has a rusted axle

[Ol'Shirley97]

So I have a 97 Cavalier ls 4dr 2.2 that originally belonged to my mother and she took horrid care of it. I know more than the average person but when it comes to axles and parts like that I'm sorta in over my head. The rear left tire was slanting inward which caused it to rub against the strut ultimately causing the tire to nearly melt onto the strut and opening a huge hole in the tire.

Once I removed the tire I noticed the metal bar(which I presume is the loaded axle beam?) directly behind the drum brake is rusted to hell and there's roughly a three to two fingers thick metal piece that is holding the entire thing together. Surprisingly it's still holding everything together. My question is how do I remove the entire axle? I've already procured the part but I'm not sure how to remove the loaded axle beam or what tools I will need.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated as I deeply wish to drive my baby again.

 

[zora]

have you tried a Hanes or Chilton manual? Local library may have one.

 

[Ol'Shirley97]

unfortunately my local library doesn't have either and I'm having difficulties finding anything online giving specifics on how to take it off. I found something on youtube but the guy only recorded 16secs and he was half way through the job

 

[zora]

then you can try searching for videos on strut replacement which is one of the major components to disconnect. The rest should just be unbolting the various components. If you intend to keep the car it might be worthwile to just buy the manual

http://www.amazon.com/Haynes-General-Motors-Chevrolet-Cavalier/dp/B000CMFOQ6