I seem to have some serious suspension problems on my car:

1) My front sway-bar is no longer attached to the suspension: it's still mounted to the front of the car, but the bolt/pin/whatever that connects it to the steering knuckle is gone on the drivers side, and is (or at least part of it is) just hanging from the sway-bar on the passenger side.

2) My drivers side tie rod wobbles around like the bolt/bushing connecting it to the wheel is snapped off.

The car was in an accident just after I bought it (2 yrs ago), I was hit passenger-wheel side, and the wheel took most of the hit (it was severely bent out of allignment). I went to my local Firestone for a wheel alignment and new struts (the pass side strut was bent in the hit), and was told that my steering knuckle was damaged, and that I could either pay $1,200 to have a new one installed, or they could adjust the wheel alignment to 'just barely within specs' (this was just after I got the car, and before I started trying to do my own repairs). I opted for option 2, and never thought twice about it untill recently. However, my passenger side tire has worn down severely compared to the other 3 (I'm seeing metal wires sticking out of it - time for a new set - but the other 3 aren't even close to bad), so I have a feeling that Firestone's idea of 'within specs' wasn't really.

Now, while I'm fixing all these other problems, should I replace the knuckle? Also, what other components around the knuckle may have been damaged? And finally, what is this kind of work (replacing a knuckle) going to take in terms of time and tools? Most of the work I've done so far (cat-back pipe, cat, heater core) has just involved socket wrenches and a dremel (my rather crude solution to rusted bolts). Is 1.2k high or low to have someone else do the knuckle (in Milwaukee, WI or thereabouts) - I'd like to do it myself if it's simple enough, but if it takes too much time, I'll have to get it done (Since I need to finish in one 8hr day if I do it myself)?

Finally, if I go for a 'front end rebuild kit', what's the difference between the one offered by <a href="http://www.performancesuspension.com/gmfek.htm">Performance Suspension Components</a> vs the one from <a href="http://www.p-s-t.com/fekpgimp.html">PST</a>, and how feasable would it be to install such a kit in one 10am-6pm day?

Any comments, tips, pointers would be usefull.

 

not sure what you're calling a knuckle?
if it's a ball joint then you're talking 100 dollars maybe ,it's all fairly simple to replace, 200-300 dollars ought to buy you most of the parts, you'll need a pickle fork, spring compressor, plus the common wrenches or sockets, buy a manual and read up on it and look at the pics