you lucked out there.
I believe anelectric tool can be damaged by using to long or long and
small extension cord.
Sure worked out for you though.

sometimes they can be removed with a good cold chisel and nice Ford
Wrench aka hammer.
that's how to remove those 'lock' type lug nuts.  Sometimes they'll come
off with just a dozen really good whacks.

I'm sure you wouldn't let any tire store touch your wheels without at
least checking the torque of the nuts yourself afterwards.

I am not joking when I say upwards of 3/4ths of the procar work I see is
sloppy or wrong somehow. Seriously.
I wouldn't dream of letting a tire shop touch my van.
even when I bring them the wheels and tires only..
and tell them I am willing to pay extra for good careful work ..
they STILL screw things up now and then !

On 9/29/2013 5:18 PM, JRodgers wrote:
> Scott,
>
> I had a lug nut that way once. Some yahoo at a tire place must have
> turned the air way up when the tires were put on, cause nothing would
> back it off when I needed it off - which was after a flat in purt'near
> the middle of nowhere. Even my four foot cheater in the back seat
> wouldn't budge it. There was a little house across the road and a fellow
> there had a small grinder. We strung one long extension across the road
> and I ground and ground and ground on that nut. Took me all afternoon
> lightly grinding to finally  cut through so I could remove the nut then
> the wheel and change the tire. Couldn't grind hard because with the long
> run of extension cord - the breaker kept popping. That is when I learned
> about the nut back-ring being case-hardened on Vanagon lug nuts.
>
> Drove home with one missing lug nut. Had new stud installed next day.
>
> I really appreciated the fellow that loaned me that grinder.
>
> John
>
> On 9/29/2013 3:38 PM, Scott Daniel wrote:
>> hi ..
>> actually thinkingabout this more..
>> it's been so long since I had to do any 'backyard' method on holding the
>> wheel from turning while undoing that big nut.
>> Back in the 70's it was put it in gear,
>> have a friend stand on the brakepedal..
>> put the parking brake on ,
>> and chock the wheel ..
>> that often was suffeicient, but not always.
>>
>> these days i have an actual holder tool ....a section of an old wheel ..
>> a mercedes steel one actually ..with a stout T-section bar welded to it,
>> about two feet long.
>> Things ain't goin' anywherewith that setup.
>>
>> as Isaid ..I have seen that nut on their just tightern' you can imaginea
>> few times.
>> for sure ..
>> make sure the whole shebang works now rather than later .
>>
>> scott
>>
>> On 9/29/2013 1:01 PM, Stephen Grisanti wrote:
>>> I do have an old Triumph motorcycle fork tube that has served well as
>>> my cheater in the past, but it may not be long enough for breaking
>>> this nut loose.  I probably need to try it to make sure the whole
>>> shebang works.  Don't want to find out in a crunch that I'm not as
>>> prepared as I thought I would be.
>>>
>>> Stephen
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>>   From: Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
>>> To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
>>> Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2013 2:37 PM
>>> Subject: Re: tool find
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> nice find.
>>> nowyou need a good long, about 3 feet, solid cheater bar to use with
>>> your two new tools.
>>>
>>> even standing on the end of a very stout 3 1/2 long cheater bar
>>> sometimes in not enough to unscrew that mutha.
>>> I've had to heat a few of those nuts ( like one out of dozen or so ) ..
>>> in one extreme case ..even with heating ...the nut galled the threads
>>> on the stub axle taking the nut off.  Both nut and stub axle were
>>> ruined. That only happened once in dozens of years though.
>>>
>>> it's good to take things like the rear axle nut and flange apart once
>>> in a great while ..make sure their not seized badly with rust etc.
>>>
>>> scott
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 9/29/2013 4:01 AM, Stephen Grisanti wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm not looking forward to ever needing the 46mm socket for the big
>>> rear axle nut, but have always kept that measurement (and its standard
>>> 1 13/16" equivalent) in mind in case I trip over one, which I recently
>>> did.  Of course, after buying I find that NAPA stocks the non-metric
>>> one for $25 (on sale this week for $16!) but that Ohio antique mall
>>> was fairly boring until I hit a huge booth full of tools and the $5
>>> find that is now living under the back seat of the '87 Westy with its
>>> new Harbor Freight 3/4" drive breaker bar.
>>>
>>
>