Had some time today to listen to the engine while a friend was managing the throttle. Hard to locate any source or direction but probably from the back side of the engine, maybe little on the passenger side (hard to tell).
Engine otherwise runs like a charm, VCDS doesn't give any clues. I had an error on one of the EGR valves a month ago (before the noise appeared) but when I pulled them and cycled them with VCDS they worked just fine. No engine light since then.
I haven't followed up on steamships ideas. Just noticed that it was a pita to check the power steering fluid level. Noise doesn't change when I move the steering wheel though.
PCV valve? Hmm, hard to say anything about that. How would one know if that is bad? Would the sound come from it or would it just result in noise coming from somewhere else?
A shaky movie, held it in my hand while I listen around myself.
https://youtu.be/SsIXgsrMCVY