it sounds like your strut has served it's purpose in this life.
possibly hitting the front bumper
Something loose or broken. Try to determine if its when going over certain bumps or down straight smooth terrain.
A lot of times the grinding sound that is heard when going over bumps is actually the car scraping the cement. If it is not a serious problem then the best thing to do would be to drive slow over the bumps.
Yes it is possible. I have a 2001 sentra and recently replaced the front right strut and coil spring. It didn't have a springing sound though, more of a clunk sound when driving over bumps and on turns. The strut was bent and the coil spring broken. Also the sway bars had play. It was safe to drive with play in the bar, but until it got new links put in, it still made the same sound.
check the links on your stabalizer bar.
Check the mounting bolts on the break pad assembly.they get loose and sometimes come right out.
It CAN be CV joints, but it depends on the sound.
sounds to me like a really bad c.v joint or joints
a dog
Check front end components i.e tie rod ends ball joints, struts and strut mounts for wear and looseness
If it sounds like it's from one of the front wheels, you may have a worn out CV joint.
Probably dried out shocks or struts, but it could be bushings in the front steering arms