Because not all of us drive an Alero or a Grand Am, the car will be referred to as "The N Body". It is the name of the Chassis, similar to how the Intrigue's Chassis is called the "W Body".
Step 1:
Remove the hubcap (if any) and loosen the lugnuts on both sides.
Step 2:
Look for a raising/jacking point on the N body. Make sure it can handle the weight of the car. DO NOT jack your car up on the floorpan. It will push the metal upward and you will have a lump on your floor. You should be able to jack the car up on its suspension (IE: The knuckle) without causing damage.
Step 3:
Use the hydraulic jack to raise your N Body up. Depending on the jacking point, you may end up raising the whole rear end of the car. BE CAREFUL IF THIS HAPPENS, AND PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Step 4:
Place a jackstand where you would normally raise your car up using the normal (GM supplied) jack when changing a flat tire. If you have never done this (and I really hope this isn't the case), it will be the visible piece of metal that isn't flush with the body.
Step 5:
Repeat if necessary. (If the whole rear end didn't go up when jacking the car up). The goal is to have the car resting on both jackstands at the same height.
Step 6:
Remove the lugnuts on both rear tires, and remove the tire. You can put the tires underneath each side of the car, for extra security should some freak accident happen and the car falls off the jackstands.
Your car should now look similar to this on both sides.
Step 7:
Remove the nuts that hold the strut bolts to the steering knuckle. Do not remove the bolts from the knuckle.
Do not worry about the bolts falling out... they need to be hammered out (more on this later)
Step 8:
Remove the bottom knuckle bolt. It is the one with the bushing and the plate that says "this side out"
Step 9:
Remove the sway bar link bolt.
Step 10:
Place the drip pan under the general work area and remove the brake hose.
Step 11
Remove the wiring harness to the hub. That is the wiring for the ABS system.
Step 12:
Remove the nut to the long bolt that holds the steering knuckle to the independent suspension.
At this point, you should see that the knuckle is loose and ready to come out...
Step 13:
With a ballpeen hammer, hit the strut bolts until they pop out.
You should now be able to remove the bolts, and remove the steering knuckle. Your end result should be similar to this...
You will notice I have not said anything about parking brake cable. You can take off the knuckle with the parking brake cable still attached to the drum and set it aside. Notice in the picture, that is exactly what I did. The reason for this is that it will be easier to take off the cables last instead of taking them off the drum first, only to do the job again at the center where both cables are attached.
It is here where you decide which one you do next... removal of the parking brake cables, or install the new steering knuckle. You have to take off the cables eventually.
Step 14:
To remove the parking brake cables, you will ideally want to remove the driver side's parking brake cable first. Pull on it with the vice grips until it gets close to the exit hole. You can use pliers alternatively, and use the vice grips to hold the cable in place. A flathead screwdriver will be ideal to hold the clip in place as you wiggle the cable out.
Step 15:
Repeat the same for the passenger's side. With the driver's side out already, you will see it will be very easy to pull the cable that leads to the actual hand brake towards the passenger's side drum cable, pushing the clip towards the exit hole, freeing the passenger's side cable. You will now have a cable dangling from the center of the car (Sorry for lack of pictures will get some soon).
INSTALLATION OF NEW KNUCKLE
Installation is the exact reverse of what you did to get the knuckle off.
To make it easier, you will want to do Step 8 first, so the bottom of the knuckle is already attached to the suspension. Then push the steering knuckle up, insert the 2 bolts to the struts, install the camber bolt again (step 9), and finally put the long bolt back onto the suspension and knuckle and redo the nut back on it.
Everything but the camber and strut bolts are torqued to 88lb
The strut nuts are torqued to 133lb.
Putting the knuckle back on should be easier than taking it off.
Once the knuckle is on the car, you will now proceed with a normal brake job.
Step 1:
Place the rotor on the hub
Step 2:
Bolt on the caliper brackets to the knuckle
Step 3:
Bolt on the banjo bolt to the back of the caliper. MAKE SURE THE BRAKE HOSE IS NOT TWISTED OR COMPROMISED IN ANY WAY!
Step 4:
Place the pads inside the caliper
Bolt on the caliper to the caliper bracket
Step 5:
Repeat the same process on the other side.
Step 6:
Bleed your car's brakes. For this you will also need some DOT 3 brake fluid.
Step 7:
Install new parking brake. The parking brake is intended to do just that, but it is also an emergency brake, should the normal braking system fail.
You first want to run the driver's side cable to the center, then place it on the back of the knuckle, on a small rectangular clip. You do the same with the passenger's side.
If you did this right, and the parking brake shoes don't need adjustment, then you should have a functional parking brake again.
TIPS
AT this point, you may also want to consider changing your struts. You can purchase quick struts.
There's also a high chance you may have to align your car after this is done. I personally would recommend changing struts and aligning the car once this is done.
Once you do the stuff to remove the knuckle, everything is practically reverse.
Questions, concerns, etc.... feel free to post, and I will edit to clarify anything as needed.