I had the same creak noise and it was driving me crazy because I couldn't diagnose where it was coming from. It ended up being the front ball joints. Noise/creaking is completely gone now.

A tool called a "Chassis Ear" perhaps ? Very useful device for this kinda thing. Depending on which tool you're using it's basically an electronic listening device that "listens" to one or more sensors. These sensors are placed close to wherever you think the noise is coming from and it helps zero in on the offending location. You move the sensors around until the sound you're trying to track down is at it's most intense and usually at that point you'll have the sensor right on top of the right bush, hinge, rod, whatever.

So you don't do the trial and error method that more often than not ends up costing a fortune.

Of course like with all tools, you can spend as much as you want on these things. But some basic models can be picked up on eBay for quiet reasonable prices.