Check the strut braces, have the mechanic put the car up on the hoist and pull down on the wheel.

Sway bar links can be checked easily by wiggling them to see if they are loose, bent or disconnected at either end. In 120K miles I have put on about 4 of them on my 1995. Since you are getting uneven tire wear you need to find out if a ball joint is loose. If so you may be looking at a major accident. Uneven tire wear can't be caused by the sway bar links, though they can cause plenty of noise. Misalignment can cause uneven tire wear but alignment should include checking for damaged parts including ball joints. If not a ball joint then strut bushings are likely to be the source of noise. It's not unusual for suspension noises to come and go on different roads and loads.

I had a simmilar noise on mt 95 855. Replaced the sway bar end links from ebay, and the noise got worse. Wound up replaceing the spring cushions (ebay) was an afternoon job with the help of a friend. No more noise. Good Luck, Chuck.

the knocking noise is also a symptom of worn ball joints, especially over bumps. The fact that you say it disappears with you have passengers says ball joints to me.

Could also be your strut bushing. If you have a spring compressor they're not too hard to replace.

Most probably the stabilizer bar links.

They are a weak link in this front suspension.

My car, with 100,000 miles on it, has had them replaced three times.

If you've got 73,000 miles on yours, and they've never been replaced, I would lay money on that being your problem.

Besides, they are cheap and easy to replace.

At 73,000 miles, your struts should be fine.

As to tire wear--you simply need an alignment.