This is the mechanical mystery that baffles all mechanics within (at least)>a 50 mile radius of my hometown:>

Over late last year, don't ask how but my Achieva became submerged pretty>deep in a mudhole. It was to the point where the body of the car was>resting on level ground, meanwhile the front bumper had extended across>the length of the puddle and was somehow holding up the car and the tires>were just dangling. I'll never forget the awful cracking noise the car>made as it came to rest. >

Anyway, somehow my roomie and I got it out in less than an hour, and it's>never skipped a beat as far as engine/transmission­ goes, but it's been>making this awful, annoying grinding sound when it takes off ever since.>To more accurately describe it, it almost sounds like the driver's side>tire is flat, or like the car is just spinning the tire above the ground>and it's scraping along the pavement. As the car changes gears as normal>and gets going pretty good, it fades out to - forgive me for using this>example, but - something that sounds a lot like someone hitting a bong. It>seems to only come from the driver's side front tire, and can't be heard>from the outside of the car. >

As of recently I've noticed that the sound will reoccur for a short time>if, say, I'm going over a dip in the road at a good rate of speed. That>leads me to believe it may be my shocks and struts, but I'm really not>knowledgeable enough to say for sure.>

I had a couple of mechanics tell me it may be in my tire. In response, I>put new tires all the way around and still the sound remains. I take it to>another mechanic and they said it might be my axle/joint. I had all that>replaced too, and that didn't work, either. It doesn't seem to be>detrimental to the vehicle at all, I'd just really like to know what it is>so maybe this time I can actually fix the problem, rather than just putting>new parts on my car.>

I greatly appreciate any advice anyone has on this issue.