Volkswagen Repair: front end noise on a passat, cv boots, cv joints

Question
hi i have a 1998 passat and every time i turn the wheel i here a noise it sounds like its grinding also my abs light is on whats wrong and how do i fix it

Answer
Hi Mike;
You actually might have 2 things happening at the same time.  The 1998 Passat had "wear sensors" embedded into the inner brake pad, and when the rotor starts to touch them the brake, and/or the ABS lights will illuminate.  This means that the brake pads are too thin, and need to be replaced.  The other thing I expect that is happening is the CV boots are split, probably both of them...The outer CV boots on both sides of the car.....and once they split, the grease that bathes the CV joint is thrown all over the inside of the wheel, and the rest of the front end components, and once the grease is gone, there is nothing to protect the CV joint itself, so I expect that both of the outer front CV joints need to be replaced, too.  Those are both relatively big jobs, and without a hoist, and a bunch of tools...I mean a bunch...it is probably best left to a professional shop that specializes in Volkswagens, or at least German cars.
Have them diagnose it for sure too, it's easy to see, and not so easy to diagnose when I can't even see the car itself, Mike.  Hope this helps some.  Good luck.