the biggest prob with them stripping is that they are all bound in the
forward motion from the vehicle.. and an impact gun should be no prob as
long as the socket is tapped in..
  But what I have done on all my aircooled and van is to back it up (5mph+-)
and brake hard. this usually returns the grip from the forward motion.  that
is why IMHO that after you cut them off (when they strip) that they'll back
off with just fingers.. they are X-tremely hard metal and do not usually
seize to the flange.
 as for replacing them I am all for that. and I prefer the 12pt triple
square ones. X-cept for the outboard ones on a van, I use a looong allen
socket to reach these (it is a snap-on tool and I love it)  no problems

but IMHO the allen ones strip easier

dan stevens

Date:    Mon, 18 Sep 2000 17:38:19 EDT
From:    kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Subject:
Greetings and Salutations;
        It is with a bit of trepidation that I share something I
discovered today. For twenty+ years I have struggled with removing  those
stupid allen head bolts in the CV joints. Today I decided to experiment
with using an impact wrench to remove them. They zipped out in seconds! I
used the lowest setting on all most all of them with no problem. I was
quite leery of stripping the heads out but the VW gods must have been
smiling on me today.

Drive Safely & Good Luck
Ken Lewis    <Kernersville,NC>
86 VW crewcab;60 356B Coupe
-----------------------------

 feel free to ask or advise. I listen as well as learn.