Odd creaking noise near left front wheel

I've been experiencing a rather unusual problem with my 1998 Neon (which durrently has
78,000 miles on the odometer) for the past few months. There seems to be an odd creaking
noise near the left front wheel, and I can't figure out what's been causing it.

The creaking sound usually occurs when I hit bumps or dips in the road regardless of
speed. When I stop the car and bounce the left front corner up and down, I can hear the
creak. But when I try the same for the other three corners, I hear nothing.

Another unusual aspect of this problem it that it appears to be related to the ambient
temperature -- when I drive the car or perform the jostle test in cool weather, nothing
happens. But when the weather warms up -- whether I drive the car or not -- I can
replicate the creaking.

The creaking also seems to be more pronounced when I make right-hand turns, whether
forwards or backwards. I've also noticed that the car's nose will tend to dip slightly
when I make a right turn, and that there's some slight noise when I turn the wheel (it
can't be steering fluid loss -- the fluid level is OK).

I've had two mechanics look at this problem since May, and neither of them could find
anything wrong. Both of them said that the suspension components seem to be tight and in
good order.

I'm stumped as to what may be causing this noise. I'd like to know -- is this normal for
the car's old age, or is it a sign of a major failure waiting to happen?

Comments and recommendations are welcomed.

TIA,

 

That would be the strut. Some struts tend to do that. If you're still on
your factory installed struts, you could get them replaced. The creaking
may stop and the handling may improve. It's a liveable noise, just strange.

 

Brayton wrote in rec.autos.makers.chrysler:

It could be a bad strut, though I had both front struts replaced last year
as preventive maintenance (the factory originals were just about worn out).

If it's not the strut, what else could it be? (Just covering all the bases
here.)

 

Sway bar bushing
Larry

 

Same exact creaking you describe right down to being temp related.
In my case turned out to be an outer tie rod end.

Lou