I bought sockets to pull my rear half shafts off the differential from my local Carquest. It was a 4 pack of double star sockets. The only problem was, you need a good quality 1/2 in drive 1/2(?)in socket to use them. After God knows how long being installed on my S350D, only an impact would break them loose. Straight line torque is way more efficient than pulling on a bolt with a ratchet and a very long extension. Anyhow the socket set wasn't 20 bucks if I recall.
Wayne