update:
my cv boots are fine, sealed, delivered (is that how it goes?). i took of the front drivers' wheel today to check it out in more detail and to check brakes/rotors (as i know they're getting bad). good news is that the rotors look fine. i might need a resurface, though. brakes are about at the end of the line. everything looked in pretty good shape overall... until i looked around under the "engine mud flap" on the frontmost side (left side from viewing drivers' side). it appears that a rubber grommet is missing. looked in my haynes manual, found no pics of what it should be like. i'd take pics and post them, but i dont have the luxury of that right now. i did show a friend, though, and he said that it's part of the tie rod/steering system and that it's not what's causing the noise. in further discussion, i explained to him that i get this... more like a clunking sound... whenever i turn the wheel until it turns no more. he said that was it. i shouldnt be doing that. he explained it as that i'm turning it so far that i'm "cracking the knuckles" of the swivel/elbow thingys (my own lingo included
). he said it's normal... especially for 4x4s and that his trucks did that, too. i only really turn the wheel that far when doing u-turns and pulling in/out of parking spaces. so i guess that's ok, then?
what's bugging me now is that part that's apparently missing a rubber piece. i tried checking the passenger side, but the part is completely different there. the 7-8 inch brace doesnt even bend the same way.
on another note, is there a relatively easy way to check if i need to resurface the rotors?