Re: front o/s rattle
It could also be the strut upper support bearings (sits on top of the spring seat) .. they OEM ones tend to compress after a while. I just replaced my struts and support bearings and putting the old ones up against the new ones there was about a 3-4 mm difference in height. Bilstein make heavy duty ones which are good for anyone with uprated springs.
After replacing the support bearings I still have a small knocking sound coming from the front .. which will almost certainly be the ARB links. I am getting metal ones to replace the plastic ones, which hopefully should last longer.
I am also about to replace the wishbone bushes and ball-joints.. my car has almost done 100,000km so they are probably due.