Just to chime in here -

After getting new tires, I was workng on the engine and could better access by
removing the rear wheels, in trying to remove one lug nut, I broke both my 150
ft-lb torque wrench and snapped a 3" extension in half. Although I felt very
strong at breaking metal stuff, it still bugged me that they would put it on
soooo hard.

The goods news is that both broke items were Craftsmen and easily replaced (when
replacing, I also bought a 20" breaker bar)

Dave
86 Vanagon GL