Free Hub Help - getting my old bike back out

Hello Everyone... Looking to get my old bike back out after 20+ years in the garage and hit the road again this summer. Bike is a Schwinn Clear Creek that I purchased new back in 1995 and put around 2000 miles or so on it according to the old trip meter I had back in the day. Long story short one day back around 1999 I was stuck and pushing extremely hard on the pedal to get going then herd a noise from the rear hub - after that it seemed the pedals would freewheel unless I gave them a very fast spin at which point sometimes they would engage and I could pedal forward. Bike sat for 10+ years and now the issue seems to have changed a bit. Pedals engage but do not seem to disengage LOL.... if I start to pedal and stop the chain seems to bounce up and down, slack up and down. it appears the gear on the back jams sometimes.... another 10 years and same issue- but now I wanna ride again. :)


I have been doing some googling the last few days and found some info - I have what I believe is a cassette for gears in the back with a free hub? its a Shimano Hyperglide-C. Looks like I need a puller to get the cassette gears off... then do I need to order a separate puller to get the free hub off as well? I have found some helpful youtube video's on how to tear down and grease the parts but not a lot of info if parts are available if I find something is broken in the free hub.



Any advice here? Mechanical skills are not an issue just not a lot of experience with bicycles. Any special tools I need to order?



Thanks!