left front noise

Guys I hope you can help me. I have a 2000 Taurus with 61K miles. I am having rattling noise in the left front wheel. My mechanic instists that he thinks it is related to the brakes, but we have replaced everything including pads, brackets, and calliper, and still have the rattle. It shows up badly when i am driving on a rough or gravel surface road, and usually when the brakes are not applied. It does not rattle when the brakes are being applied. You can also get it to rattle by puttling your foot against the top of the tire and pushing in and out, shaking it. It sure sounds like it is further back than the brake. Has anyone ever run across anything like this with a Taurus? If you have and know what you did to fix it, I sure could use a hand!

Have you checked the strut mounts, top and bottom? The bolts may have come loose or if they were replaced they may not have gotten properly tightened. If that is OK jack the car up so the offending wheel is off the ground and turn the wheel. It should be smooth and free and no play in it when wiggled top to bottom or side to side. If you crawl under it, be sure and block it up with jack stands or block of wood.