I replaced everything serviceable when I did my struts: tie rod ends, bushings, ball joints, anti-sway bar bushings. And, unfortunately, the steering rack because it was leaking and I hadn't noticed until I replaced the bellows.

The whole thing took a weekend: tedious but pretty easy. Harbor Freight Tools has spring compressors at a good price, and a bargain price for offset wrenches -- about $12 each for metric and inch sets. Exactly perfect for the godforsaken nut on the top of the strut, and 1/3 the price for the special-purpose tools mentioned elsewhere on the net.

AFter you are done, the realignment is required, not optional.

And your car will ride beautifully.
--
-- Bruce / '82 244 (315k miles!), '86 745, '87 760Ti, '94 854