Ha you sure showed that stubborn axle nut who was boss!

Was about to do the same thing. But, I had a better idea. Took the 4 foot handle from my jack and put it over my 12" breaker bar. She was on there real good.

Re: Axle Nut.
I use a 4-foot Iron Pipe ($12 at Home Depot) with 1/2-inch breaker bar.
See photo of my 1998 528i.
If I do this again, I will use a jackstand to support the 1/2" extension so it does not sag down...

See the link below for tricks...
DIY: 1998 528i REAR Bearing the Easy Way! - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums




http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...hmentid=291987

asked in another thread, but: how you know the inner joint is bad?

Thanks for all the comments guys, so I got a quote from CVJ in denver he will ship me two reman'd oem axles with lifetime warranty (no offroading or lift kits allowed, lol) for $99 each plus shipping and with a core fee to be refunded upon return of my used axles.

Damn, looks like I am going to have fun doing the removal if my axles really are original equipment, as I suspect they are. Time to put my new impact wrench to good use!...or is the breaker bar an actually superior method. I have a 24'' 1/2 drive that works great on so many tough nuts. and less risk of stripping a rusty head? Also, just for clarification its a 36mm 12 point socket that's needed right?

Yes, 36 mm 12-point. If you have a floor jack the removable handle makes a handy dandy cheater bar also. Here's the set I used to remove the axle nut:

If you are going to replace the entire axle you should also replace the differential seal.

Hopefully the cores that you are sending back are OEM BMW cores and not some cheap aftermarket cores or else they are not going to accept them and you can add the cost of the cores charge to the bill.