sick grinding / crunching sound

[chaffingbuttocks 0]

Hi guys,

Recently, i've been hearing a sick grinding sound that is similar to what you'd get if you tried to change gears on a manual car when the clutch wasn't fully in. I can also feel the vibration through the pedals (both the accelerator and the brake - it's an automatic so no clutch). but it sounds more muffled when i have my foot on the brake in comparison to the accelerator. Here's what i know so far :

it's not the cv joint, front diff, brakes, wheels or transmission. they were all checked out by the mechanic and left cv was replaced (slightly worn) but didn't solve the problem. it happens more frequently when the car is turning left or going over a speed bump (read that as on an incline), and most often when on an incline, turning right. it's like a sick grinding noise that only occurs for 2-3 seconds, and i can get it driving round and round in circles to the right, half lock but again, at a steady speed / angle it only grinds for 2-3 seconds then stops, then grinds then stops etc. I pulled open under the steering wheel area, to see if it was the steering column, but I can't feel any vibration through that. It isn't consistent.. sometimes i'll drive 5 minutes and it'll be fine, and other times every few seconds it grinds. sometimes i can do full circles to the right and there's nothing.. other times it's really bad.

any advice / suggestions would be helpful. I have a golf manual here too, and flicked through that but couldn't find anything.

[chaffingbuttocks 0]

i think it might be something related to the suspension? the sound is not audible outside the car, but as it occurs when going over speed bumps, on an incline, or turning at reasonable speed (there is some body roll) it leads me to believe that the movement in the wheel in relation to the body is causing it. The mechanic also said he couldn't get the car to grind when he had it up on the hoist, when the wheels were relaxed... does this sound feasible?

[chaffingbuttocks 0]

hm. i have noticed that lately, my ABS light has been acting up.. and when the light is on (i.e. abs is off), i'm not getting the grinding.. is it possible that the ABS is functioning when i'm just driving normally? the pedal grind when braking is similar to ABS although i discounted it because i'm sure i saw before when the light was on, it still did it. only lately, when the warning light has been on consistently, has the grinding disappeared..