Loading the suspension prior to bolting it down makes sense from an "as assembled" standpoint but never heard of it being SOP on cars. Except for some issues with rotational bushings where you want to tighten the suspension/bushings under load as in the actual position it will operate in. Here used a floor jack or lowered the car/suspension onto support boards, jackstand, etc. to simulate it being on the ground.

 

With the car on the ground, I loosened the top mounting bolts. Then I lifted the car with a floor jack, removed the wheels, placed jack stands under the knuckles, then let the car rest on them to simulate the car being on the ground. I re-torqued the lower bolts, replaced the wheel, and let the car down off the jack stands. At the top mount, nothing particularly "interesting" happened, so I re-tightened all the upper bolts, making sure that everything was seated well against the body metal. All nuts went all the way "home" with the same amount of force. I didn't use my (lousy, unreliable, soon to be replaced) torque wrench for fear of breaking another bolt, but I'd estimate the torque to be about 50 ft/lbs.
Side note about Vehicle Height: I mentioned earlier that the car "seems higher" than before the strut replacement. I didn't think to measure the vehicle height before the strut replacement, but it is now exactly the specified 4' 10". I read other message board posts, and there is some disagreement about whether or not springs get "tired" after high mileage, but it would seem that they had, and Monroe's advertising claim that the product "restores vehicle height" may be true.
I observed that the "stupid clicking noise" only happens when cornering at low speed, as when driving into a parking spot or driveway. The sound seems to emanate from the upper mounts, but its hard to accurately identify the source of a noise while driving.
Are the anti-sway bar links suspect? I replaced the rears (easy job), torquing to spec, but the fronts are original. I'm starting to reach a little, but could it be because the links are attached to different struts?

 

The sway bar bushings can make noise. Typically, when going over potholes or speed bumps.

On a much older Carmy i had an upper strut mount making a clicking noise. It was not hard to tell it was bad as opposed to a sway bar bushings noise . . . .. which the car had at one time before a bushing change.

Did the noise start after the strut change?

Watch the video at the link below. The setup uses a pizo mic to detect mechanical vibrations. Engine makers use them to detect engine cylinder detonation as a knock sensor. I had thought about using a pizo mic in your situation and someone beat me to it with a video. The mic could eliminate or confirm the noise is at the upper strut mount area.

If you want to more scientific can connect the headphone output to oscilloscope. There are low cost handheld ones out there. See link below. You will need to attenuate the signal but can use passive probe (resistor/capacitor) to do this.

Bing Videost


Might be worth a look.

 

The noises started after the struts were replaced. I had already replaced the rear sway bar links. The good news is that after replacing the struts and rear tires, the WumpWumpWumpWump noise is gone. The gizmos look interesting, but the guy in the video never really goes through how to use it to diagnose a problem. I'm getting sick of thinking about this, as you probably are

 

Great job!

No worries! I had issues with cars that took years to diagnose as just too quirky.

 

I'm starting to think the click/clunk noises have something to do with the (new) sway bar ends, or the connection of them to the new struts. The sounds only happen when cornering at low speed-turning in and out of parking spots and driveways. Could the connection stud for the sway bar ends on the new struts be a sloppier fit? There is no step or taper on the stud to fit tightly into the hole before putting the nut on.
I'd get rid of the Monroes and try KYB's, but it would be a drag to do all that work to find that the problem was never the struts in the first place.