'03 Eddie Bauer front end clunking

[PMadskills]

Sorry for the vague title, but I have a vague idea of what the problem is.

'03 XLT with 175k miles on it. Just replaced both front wheel bearings myself. Pax side was a bear. Used a hub puller and pushed against the end of the axle to pop it out of the knuckle with all the bolts removed. It took some serious pressure before the rusty SOB finally gave and popped out. Undercarriage shows significant rust, like you'd expect from several salty winters.

Here's my observations: At low speed coasting, I get a rhythmic clunking that seems to increase or decrease frequency with wheel speed. Sound discontinues when steady braking or acceleration is applied. Not as noticeable if at all above about 35mph but that may be due to road noise. Sound does not exist during sharp turns, almost exclusively during straight and shallow turns. It is not consistent, not sure if it's a heat related issue or not.

I'm a little worried I may have damaged something on the pass side drive axle when I used it to pop the front bearing hub assembly out? Lots of the little (half dollar sized) rubber bits in the linkages around the front wheel are fairly deteriorated.

Any help on diagnostic tips or usual suspects would be helpful. Happy to supply pictures at your request.

Mahalo

 

[PMadskills]

Update
I jacked the front right wheel off the ground and when I push/pulled on the 12/6 positions, no wiggle. When I rotated the wheel clockwise and counterclockwise, there was some play and clunking coming from the drive shaft. I could move the wheel a little bit both directions, without any movement from the drive shaft that goes to the rear diff. By a little, I mean the outside of the tire traveled maybe an inch to 1.5" before the shaft rotated, and it was accompanied by the metallic clunk.