Years ago I bought the VW tool, which looks like a 46mm box end wrench
with almost no handle, but a square hole for a 1/2" breaker bar.  The
stub also has "ears" on either side of the breaker bar hole.  They are
there for beating on with a ball peen or light sledge while applying
pressure with the breaker bar.  Whang on that sucker long enough and
it'll start to move.  I've used penetrating oil but never heat.

To tighten I first put plenty of grease on the threads and the bearing
face of the castle nut.  I then calculate how far out on my breaker +
cheater bar I need to stand to apply 350 ft/lbs.  That's 350 / 212 (my
weight) = 1.651 ft.  That times 12 (inches in a foot) comes reasonably
close to 20 inches.  So, I mark my cheater bar at 20" from the center of
the nut and once I get it tight enough to support me I put the rig so it
sticks out as close to horizontal as possible and, carefully, climb on.
When I'm done I lean on the end of the cheater to bring a cotter hole in
line with the next gap in the nut.

If you don't want to stand on the bar, do a pushup on the bathroom scale
and see how much your upper half weighs.  Use the same calculation and
go that much farther out on the cheater.

Ed

Todd Last wrote:

>Can anyone tell me the mm socket size needed for the rear axle nut for an '88 Vanagon?
>
>
>thanks
>
>Todd
>'88 Westy
>