I've probably mentioned this before, but I thought I'd revisit the
problem before my truck goes into the shop on Monday to fix the A/C -
I'm going to talk to the mechanic then about diagnosing and fixing this
annoyance.

My truck (2001 Dodge Dakota SLT, 4x4, 4.7l v8) has a creak in the
summertime.  In the wintertime, it does not.

Right now, in between, when it starts getting a little warm (60s), the
creak happens only a bit, at a slow speed when I'm braking (I've not
pinned it down exactly, but I think lower than 35mph).  It appears to be
coming from somewhere down the steering shaft (and sometimes I can feel
it there), but is definitely related to the brakes, or the frame
somehow.  The steering shaft seems tight, I can't move it up or down or
sideways at all at the steering wheel.

As the weather gets warmer, the creak increases, until when it's hot,
I've heard it when going over bumps.  Usually, I have to be braking, or
shifting, or both (I think it's either braking or braking and shifting
mostly).  When I'm doing both, I can feel it in the brake and clutch
pedals, and the steering column.

There was a TSP once, something about the steering column not setting
properly, I had this done and it did not fix this issue.

Brakes themselves seem to be fine, I had them checked last time the
truck was in for service.  It was fall then, so the mechanic and I
agreed to wait until it warms up to try to sort this issue out.

Underbody does have a lot of rust, from three years of British winters -
the roads are salted nearly every night because of frost (when it frosts
there, it isn't kidding!), and thus are salty and wet nearly every morning.

Any ideas I can take to the mechanic are welcome.  Anything I can check
out myself without having to use a tool or crawl under my truck (because
I'm lazy right now, not because I can't) are even more appreciated :)

jmc