thanks for the help guys- I can wobble the freehub body when the wheel is not mounted on the bike (without the axle; edit I mean skewer)- so I am thinking that it is probably just worn out. It has seen some action so it is to be expected. I had the feeling is was not just a classical bearing problem (as the bearings did not feel that loose i.e. - no real lateral play as you would expect with losse bearings). So like Adamdz I have the feeling that if I try to just do a bearing service it would probably not hold for long. So a new axle is probably the best solution here. Luckily I have a spare wheel to be riding on for now.