Yup - you got it - use a BIG breaker bar (3/4" drive is better) and a heavy pipe as a leverage extender. Use black iron or galvanized pipe, not conduit or PVC. Measure out a known distance - 2 feet or three, just for ease of calculating, then bring out a scale (only if you are really anal) and work out the weight (in pounds) and the distance (in feet). Try to have the bar and pipe somewhere close to horizontal, the math has less error that way. But its not critical to success. The math will work out something like this -

2 foot cheater needs 128 pounds applied
3 foot cheater needs 85.3 pounds applied
4 foot cheater needs 64 pounds applied

When using longer cheaters, the torque applied can easily exceed the required amount - so measure your distance from the socket carefully! Personally, I prefer to lift on the bar, but that does not always work when at large values like this. You can lift the tire enough that it starts to skid / slip!

Don't thank me  - thank some ancient Greek dude or other...

Tom Salicos <Tom@SALICOS.COM> wrote:
I'm reading on the Van-Cafe website that it takes 256 ft. lbs. to torque the nut on the front outer CV joint. How do most people do this? Rent a humongous torque wrench or guestimate with body weight and flex bar or ????

Thanks

Tom Salicos

'87 Syncro Westy EG-33

Evan Mac Donald

1984 Wolfburg
1985 GL 7 Pass.
1991 Carat Weekender
1972 Chevy P/U
1993 Bonneville