bad strut?

[northstar1958]

Gentlemen:

I have some rattling noise in the right front passenger side when i go over some really rough road (no noise on smooth to moderate road). I used a tape measure and measured from level ground thru the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender. Each measurement around the vehicle was 27 1/2 inches except on the right front passenger side whice measured 27 1/4.
Is this a sign a strut might be bad? Its a 97 pa by the way. Thanks for any info you can share.

Northstar