Manual transmission test drive

Now, (with caution – safety first!), shift the transmission lever into neutral. Apply the parking brake. With the engine idling, press the clutch pedal all the way, hold it down, and listen for noises. Then release the pedal and listen for noises again. There should be no loud noises at either positions.
The next step is the test drive.
Try to drive the vehicle at different speeds in all gears, one by one. Every gear should shift smoothly and easily without any noises or jerks. While driving at the second or third gear, try to press down sharply on the accelerator pedal for an instance. The clutch should not slip.
If you feel any slipping (e.g. the engine rpm increases but the speed remains the same), the clutch most likely has to be replaced.
Try to drive with acceleration and deceleration – there should be no grinding, whining or humming noise under any condition. All the gears should shift easily and noiselessly.


Check the CV joints

transmission12

Broken CV joint boot

A Constant Velocity joint or CV joint is an important component of the drive train. The CV joint is packed with grease and protected by the rubber or plastic boot.
Most common problem with the CV joints is when the protective boot gets damaged. Once this happens, the grease comes out and the moisture and dirt come in, eventually causing the CV joint to fail due to lack of lubrication and corrosion.
In worst case, the CV joint may disjoin causing the vehicle to stop running.
You can check the condition of the CV joint boots visually. You can see them with the front wheel turned outside, looking down from the front of a car. None of them should be damaged. Look at the photos. The CV-joint boot in upper image is damaged, in the lower image it looks OK. If a boot is damaged, it has to be replaced as soon as possible. If continue driving with broken boot, the CV joint or a whole drive shaft will need to be replaced.
While drive test, If you hear clicking or popping noise when turning, the CV joint is probably already defective.