The front struts on my 2001 Sunfire developed a squeak or rattle while the car was still under warranty and since the paint was off of the strut nuts after I got the car back from the dealer, I assume the struts were replaced. The problem has now returned many km later. I have found out from one dealer that the strut mounting plate and or bearings don't have to be replaced in most cases. They just lub the strut from the top of the strut tower from under the hood. If you look you will see that there are slots in the strut.A manual I read said to use silicon lubricant since oil based grease would attack the rubber and plastic in the strut mount. I don't know what is in the Cheetah Grease but since the dealer is using it, it must be OK. I tried silicon grease and it only lasted 3 days and the rattle was back. That's before I found out about the Cheetah Grease from the second dealer and he sprayed some into the struts for free.The dealer does not sell the Cheetah Grease spray cans to the public and I don't know where to get it yet in Ontario Canada where I live.The rattle has now been gone for 2 weeks.
I hope this saves someone the cost of new struts because that is what I thought I was going to need again.