That is an idler arm. It is usually the first item on the front end to wear out. I would check for wear on all of the components as follows. Get someone in the drivers seat, have them turn the steering wheel back and forth, not enough to turn the wheels, just enough to move the slack in the steering. If the idler arm is bad it will move up and down. Also look at the4 tie rod ends for slop. Also look at the pitman arm, it looks like the idler are except it is bolted to the steering box. You'll have to jack up the car to check the ball joints. Grab the top and bottom of the front tires and try to move them in and out while someone looks for movement of the joints.