A foreman in Chicago told me my 3/8-inch drive was 'asking for a broken wrist' on those old Otis valve springs. | Elevator Mechanics - The Design Community Hub
That foreman wasn't kidding about the wrist risk. My uncle always swore by a long-handled 1/2-inch ratchet with a pipe sleeve for stubborn linkage bolts, said it saved his knuckles more than once. He kept a specific 18-inch piece of galvanized pipe in his box just for that job. What length cheater bar did you end up using?