You should check the strut mounts as well. Get somebody to "pump" the car up and down by pushing down on the front end and letting it spring back up rhythmically. While they are doing this you can feel the top of the struts to see if they are moving around too much within the mounts.
As far as the end links are concerned, if the boots are ripped the grease can leak out and dirt can get in, Moog has grease fittings on theirs.