2014 Prius V groans, pops and thunks in the front end... why?

I have a 2014 Prius V and it has some issues related to the front end that I can't figure out....

Problem #1:
There is a slight 'tick' when I decelerate moderately aggressively, and a very audible 'thunk' when I then accelerate (for instance, at a stop sigh). I've not been able to nail this down. It is almost as though there is a bushing that has disappeared and the 'post' is now free to move around in the cavity previously occupied by the bushing. I cannot discern any play in the wheel when I jack up the car. The vehicle does have fairly recent (off-brand) wheel bearing and axles. The bolts for the wheel bearing carriers are tight.

Problem #2:
If I am sitting stationary and I turn the steering wheel back and forth, there is a significant amount of groaning and slight popping noises from the steering setup. It is very similar to what one would hear with low hydraulic steering fluid, but the Prius V does not have a hydraulic steering system; it is all electric. And, again, when I jack up the car and try to detect play in the wheels, I can't detect any.

History:
The vehicle has about 128K miles on it. The strut boots have completely disintegrated and I have some suspicion as to whether or not the struts are the source of the problem(s). I have been mulling over whether or not I should proactively replace the front struts, but I would like to be confident that this is actually the problem before I perform that work. This thought isn't because I'm against doing the struts, but more around the fact that I conceptually feel I should be confident I'm resolving the source of a problem versus the "throw new parts at it and see what works" approach.... Similarly, I'm wondering about the ball joints, but, again, there is no appreciable play in the wheels (left/right or up/down) when the vehicle is jacked up.

Background:
I am not a professional mechanic, but I do hold my own very well. I've done the wheel bearing on the car because they were definitely bad. The axles were replaced at the same time because the axle nuts buggered the threads. I've done ball joints on other vehicles because the boots were completely gone, and also suspension bushings on other cars. The Prius V is different than the Mini Cooper, however, where I can see how the "thunk" (problem #1) would come into play. The lower control arm looks to be fairly easy to visually determine if the bushing is bad, and it doesn't appear to be.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I've tried to be thorough with the description, but if there is something you'd like me to clarify or test, just let me know. Thanks!

 

Great... thanks for the response. One question, though. Is that an issue for *both* problems or only #1 or #2?

Regards.