Armed Struggle: Pitman Exercises in the Asbestos Caverns

Eagle's pitman arm was toast a few hundred miles ago.  Binding, popping, and the ball-end of the arm wringing grease out of the top seal made this pretty clear, and the recent loss of brakes a little more than 20 miles away from the house underscored the need to attend to the matter.

The street in front of my house does double-duty as an off-season drag strip/parking lot, so I make it a point to avoid doing work under the car here whenever possible.  Add the rain, wind, and cold weather of winter into the mix, and it's just not an appealing venue for doing the kind of things that changing a pitman arm calls for.  After considering these factors, I decided to make the trip to do the work at the majestic Asbestos Caverns (a basement parking garage with a 2hr limit, under a 24hr grocery store).

If you're doing the pitman arm on an Eagle, let me share a couple tips:

1. The arm and tie rod puller you can buy off the shelf at O'Partsy's won't fit, but the rental tool will.
2. You don't have to pull off all the stuff that the TSM tells you to.  Really all that's needed is to remove the sway bar bracket bolts that thread into the bottom of the steering gearbox and the three mounting bolts for the gearbox itself (which are found in the wheel well).  
3. As far as raising the vehicle is concerned, I found it necessary to jack the front up about 6" or so.  Didn't even need to raise the wheels off the ground to get plenty of clearance to install the new arm (and I didn't have it raised at all to remove the old one).

If you're doing work in a nearly-empty parking garage at midnight, I have a few more tips:

1. Let's be clear: you're not wanted there.  Businesses don't want their garages to be used as garages for a number of reasons; trash, chemicals, noise, liability, and aesthetics are just a few reasons for this.  If circumstances call for you to take advantage of their parking lots or garages, don't be a dick.  Before you start working, go inside and buy a thing, mainly for the sake of being polite, but also to cover your ass if anyone takes issue with your being there.  Keep your receipt.
2. KEEP IT CLEAN.  Visually, aurally, olfactorily.  Leave your work area cleaner than it was when you arrived, keep your use of chemicals low-key and tidy, and do not use impact tools unless absolutely necessary.  Don't throw hazmat away in the garage garbage (if you're lucky enough to still have a place that provides trash cans), rather, pack it out with you and dispose of it elsewhere.  Keep things tidy as you work.  Don't do the tornado trash spew with the expectation of cleaning up after.
3. Pay attention to parking time limits.  I've nearly been towed because of a "quick repair" that unexpectedly ended up lasting long through the night and into the next morning.  You don't want this to happen, but for reasons more than what may be immediately obvious.  You don't want to sour your experiences with the people and organizations that you're trying to make use of, because that's one less place that you can go when you need to get things done.  Maybe more, as people often talk to each other and you can find yourself with a reputation before you know it- all it takes is one bad situation.
4. Keep your windows rolled up, doors locked, and all tools within immediate view and arm's reach.  If someone's going to help themselves to your stuff, what better time than when you're stuck halfway under a car?
5. Maintain awareness of your surroundings.  As alluded to in point 4, you're going to be doing work in a vulnerable position while in a (more-or-less) public place.  Keeping aware of what and who is around you will help you avoid bad actors and bad situations brought on by the bumbling around of others who may not be as attentive as you.

This is by no means a complete list, as a comprehensive look at the subject would require me to write a book.  It should, however, be enough to reduce your chances of being injured, robbed, towed, arrested, or run out of town.