It would seem that some others, though, have had issues with the strut mounts and the bearing that allows the strut to turn with the steering which is probably more worrying...
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Yep - that's exactly what I had replaced, the mount and its bearing (both sides) - done nearly 1000m since and no more noise so hopefully all sorted (fingers crossed).
The gaitor pushes down over its bottom seating by hand, if that's any help. That's what they lift up to check if the shipping spacers have been left in. I guess you could lift and reseat it through the coil spring if you wanted to with the wheels straight ahead, to check its not twisted.