Hey guys! New to the nissan world as I am usually a mazda guy. Recently bought a 5-speed 1996 Maxima and am having some issues. When it is cold outside (like below 40ºF) there is a clunk when letting of the clutch into first and another thunk ish jerking sound going from 1st to second. There is also an absurd rattle going over bumbs or in divots coming from around the front driver suspension/shock area. Nothing out of the ordinary going into other gears and then if it's warm, there is no clunking and very minimal rattling. Got under the car today just to see if I could pinpoint the sounds and saw that both the boots for my cv axles were torn completely. Fixing those in the next week but curious on if that was most likely the sounds I was hearing or if I need to keep looking. Thank you

 

Maybe check the motor and trans mount conditions.

 

Honestly it's a crapshoot if the clunk is the CV axles or a weak motor/trans mount. If you're mechanically handy, honestly myself I would just replace the CV axles then see what noises persist and go from there

 

Yep, i think you have found the culprit.