Lift the front end up on jackstands. Grab the tire and turn it in and out while looking at each linkage point. You need to get you head close to each joint to look real close. So it take some flexibility to move the tire and get you head under there.

Also try getting someone else to move the tire and put you have over each joint. Sometime you can feel the slop between the two parts.

Do the same to the tire top and bottom to see for wheel bearing or upper or lower ball joint play.

**Grab the idler and try to move it up and down. That is usually the first thing to go. Symptoms like you describe.