Asking for a friend.

This is a Golf MK4 TDi

Going along you can hear a slight knocking/rattling/grinding sound at lower speeds and on bumpy roads from drivers side front.

Check the balljoint, trackrod, bushes , usual stuff etc for play, nothing.

Put the car in neutral , jack the drivers side up and jerk the wheel forward in direction of travel or in reverse and it makes this sound -

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2njv...5#.Ujtiy8Y3uSo

Is this dead cv joint or worse?

Car drives fine, goes into gear fine?

 

Wheel bearing??

 

I thought wheel bearings make a whirring sound? Thats more of a notchy/clunky sound.

Im usually good with cars but this has totally fried my noggin.

 

Gremlins.
Destructive little pricks.

 

May have collapsed? Just guessing tbh. With you saying grinding. What about a cv joint issue?

 

I thought if the wheel bearing had gone there would be massive amounts of play in the wheel and an interesting driving experience, ( a friend ended up half a mile into a farmers field when his bearing let go at 60mph a few years back lol ) it drives fine, just this odd noise as said, knocks/rumbles/grinds/clunks etc

 

top mount maybe?
try jacking it up and pulling on the strut to try and move it