In a message dated 11/17/01 8:24:34 PM, cikasper@MAIL.CRUZIO.COM writes:

<< using an EMPI axle bolt flat wrench, an 18" long 1/2"
breaker bar and a 3' cheater i cannot budge the thing.  i am turning my
axle, in fact. >>

Bill,

I hate to tell you this, but in my experience, the best way to loosen the
rear axle nut is with the van sitting on all four wheels, with two of the
wheels chocked and with the emergency brake on as tight as you can get it
without uprooting the emergency brake lever.  Even with the emergency brake
adjusted correctly, it alone may not be enough to resist the torque you have
to apply to the nut.  By chocking the wheels and allowing the weight of the
van to be borne by the tires, the friction force between the tire and the
ground will be added to the force of the brake.  In fact, I believe the
Bentley manual says that the van MUST be on the ground whenever the axle nut
is loosened or tightened.

The EMPI wrench is probably the same as any of the wrenches which are
available for this task in that it is a slugging wrench.  As the name
implies, a slugging wrench is meant to be struck with a hammer.  Your wrench
should have flats on either side of the 1/2" square drive hole.  While
applying torque to the nut, strike the flat sharply with a steel hammer.  A 2
lb. beater works well, but don't use a soft hammer (cooper, lead or, God
forbid, rubber) as you want to create an impulse of force when striking it.

I have had the luxury of a torque wrench with the capacity to tighten that
nut only once.  It was a Proto 3/4" drive, adjustable click-type torque
wrench all of 4 feet long.  When my buddy dropped it off for me to use, I
laughed when I saw it because I had never seen a clicker that damn big.
Since that tool is not available to me any longer, I punch an index mark on
the hub before I loosen the nut and I carefully count the turns (whole AND
fractional) that it takes to remove the nut.  I then tighten the new nut the
same number of turns.  This works well as long as the bearings are not
replaced.

Rich