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It could be ball joints if ya had ball joints - ya gots kingpins mate.
To troubleshoot, do a complete lube job on the steering components and kingpins and then see if the groaning goes away. Check the tightness of the lugnuts while you're at it.
After that test drive, jack up each front wheel and test for play by rocking the wheel/tire along a horizontal axis by pushing and pulling the top and bottom of the tire. If it has play, then new kingpins are in your near future.