Hi. I have a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim V6 that I recently discovered to have a problem on the rear axle. I was rotating the tires one day and I noticed that the coil spring support on the driver's side had either rusted or broken a weld and instead of sitting flat, was not sitting at a downward angle. The spring still has tension and I have a feeling that the car was driven for a while with this issue but it had gone unnoticed. I am going to the yard tomorrow to get a "new to me" rear axle assembly. The guy at the yard said he would pull it for me for 100 bucks. I was wondering how difficult it is to change the rear axle out and swap in another. Another question is : Do I need to disconnect the brake lines for the drums or can I just get something to support the drum backing plates (jack stands) and then swap the rear axle back in? I hate bleeding brakes and don't want to take a chance on the line breaking. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I believe it to be pretty easy, just a matter of unbolting and swapping. I would suggest getting the brakes out of your way, but if you can work around them it shouldn't be an issue to support them.