Very rewarding job. Expect it to take all of a weekend - at least it did for me. You need a spring compressor if you're going to do the lower ball joints. Either pay $200 for the proper compressor or rent it from one of our good members - please don't mess around in this area. Pickle fork is fine if you're replacing everything, but I prefer the type of decoupler that you torque to pop the joints. You'll need a press kit for the ball joints and of course, a big press. A lot of members simply pay a shop to press them into the steering knuckle cheaply and easily.
The upper control arms include the upper ball joint; there's no way to separately replace those. I used Febi all around, and am happy with it. YMMV. Alignment from local dealer is $120, local speed shop is $60 dollars (and yes, they use a spreader bar). Can't speak to left coast pricing. May as well do the guide rod mounts while you have everything apart, and if you want to be super thorough, the guide rod to spring mount bushings (can't remember the actual name, sorry). Oh, and if your steering damper is problematic, its a good time for that too. It a ton of work, but the pay off in restored handling is well worth it. Good luck.
P.S. If the scotch is Lephroaig I might be talked into a trip
