Loren and s60R have some good points.

I would remove one boot to inspect if the inner tie rod has reached the end of it's verticle travel, and if that is why the tie rod end can be seen bending.

Fixing the bump steer would stop it from reaching the end of travel......as long as the shocks are not so bad that they would continue to allow extreme angles and reduced verticle travel.....and if they are really bad, at the extremes of shock travel there will be some force against the end of the rack............example: when bad shocks bottom out on both sides at the same time...t-rod ends are forced into the rack or pulled out of the rack, and bent upward....

I would like to know the specifics of "rack continues to fail".

I would like to know specifics of "front end rattles".

I would like to know if you buy another tie rod end,
will it allow the same amount of mis-alignment/same angle/range of motion as what you have on the car, if your current shocks bottomed out?

I would like to know if there was more than one part number for the steering rack that is supposed to be on your car. A rack that is too long will run out of mis-alignment/range of motion, sooner than a rack that is the proper length for the ride height.

For the record: My stock shocks have no bearings. My car is dropped 3 inches under stock.-Bob