Might be a wheel bearing or CV joint also. Is there any way you can jack up the front end and turn the wheels by hand to check for noise or slop?

I had similar noise years ago in a Plymouth Trail Duster far from home. I limped in to the next town and dropped it a Dodge dealer. They diagnosed it as a 4wd problem. I didn't trust them and told them to pull the axles and disconnect it. Weeks later I travelled hundreds of miles to pick it up. Paid for it and it made the same noise. I had to leave it again to get the new wheel bearing.

I drove home weeks later with a 2wd Trail duster with a new wheel bearing and the guts of the front differential in a dirty box. I wound up buying a complete used axle a year or so later to get the 4wd back.