I drive a 2002 Freelander, and recently the car has kind of been acting up. When I drive it it feels like the steering wheel is loose, it is kind of hard to explain, but it really just feels loose especially when I am drviing on the highway, there is no grinding noise I do not think it is a wheel bearing or anything like that, is it normal that the steering wheel starts to get loose?

 

It could be nearly anything in the steering system. A start would be to have a friend wiggle the steering wheel back and forth, as much as it moves but not enough to move the road wheels, while you look at all the components to see if something is moving in relation to an adjacent part of the steering that isn't moving..

 

Typically wheel bearings howl when going bad.
I would say it is a problem with the rack and pinion.