Problem Antrieb/Fahrwerk Golf3 | Posts 16+

Okay, I think we've found it.
The bushings/bearings at the rear of the control arm are completely defective. This means that the wheels can essentially move however they want, within a certain range.
They will be replaced now. The strut mounts seem to be okay, the wheel bearings are okay, and the stabilizer bar links have very little play.
Okay, first let's replace these bearings and then see if that fixes the problem.

Okay, the bushings and the right control arm have been replaced.
The driving experience has improved significantly. Unfortunately, the noise disappeared for only a few days and now it reappears occasionally. Now, it only occurs with slight bumps in the road and, when turning, there's that typical cracking sound. Well, we'll check the strut mounts again.

I still have a suspicion that this is coming from the transmission/clutch.
The clutch sometimes rattles when the car is stationary. When accelerating rapidly from a standstill, there's a burning smell inside the car, and the clutch engages late.
Also, the car is sometimes quite noisy when idling in neutral, and you can hear it near the left front wheel, although you can't hear anything coming from the engine compartment.
Let's see, it's probably a faulty pressure plate. (It's got over 200,000 km on it now!)