I am trying to track down the source of a sharp creaking somewhere in my front passenger's side wheel well.

With the front of the car up on jacks, I can create the sound by moving the wheel through its turn radius. I tried an el-cheapo mechanic's scope (i.e. dowl rod) on the balljoint and the tie rod end, but didn't hear anything.

When I put the dowl to the Bilstein HD shocks, I get a louder clicking sound! Can shocks fail this way? They are 20k miles old, no leakage and still firm.

Thanks!

Dan