Pulling both my axles and when trying to loosen the first nut with my 1/2" breaker bar I loaded it until it had at least a 10° bend in the handle before I though better of it and stopped. (
I just imagined it going 'plink' and having a piece fly into the air and land on the car...)
Made a half hearted attempt to borrow a wrench but that still left the question of how to get an accurate torque once I was done...
So mad scientist time ... and I built the "nuclear hardened axle wrench"!
I picked up a cheap 32mm impact socket (
$4.99 Harbor Freight), some 1"x2" rectangular tubing, and some 1.5" schedule 40 steel pipe. The socket necks down to 1-1/2" so it slid nicely into the pipe. A 4" long section of pipe spaces it nicely so it clears the Carrera fender. Break out the TIG and once it cooled down I was ready to go! (
And I still have enough steel to make another one.)
$600 to $1000 for a 3/4" drive torque wrench? I don't think so! I made the1"x2" handle 3' long so I can figure out the torque easily to retorque the bolts. A third of the 340ft/lbs works out to 113lbs of force on the end and I can measure that with a simple scale pushed on the end of it.
(
I still can't remember how I did the last axle 15 years ago. I must have used a length of pipe and guestimated the weight on the end...)