Sounds like a ball joint getting loose. Either that or a CV joint, but I doubt that.
Get that corner up in the air and grab the top and bottom of the wheel. Try and wiggle the top and bottom in and out and if there's any movement, there's your problem. If you don't see any noticable movement, have someone peek under there at the ball joint while you're doing it again. Sometimes there can be movement not all that noticable from just the tire side.
A broken spring will usually cause a bit of sag (if broken in the right spot that is) or will cause noise while driving over bumps.
