Could this be my CV joint? The car's a 1.8t manual transmission and the left
outer CV boot is ripped and grease is all over the place. There's no steering
problems, no vibrations. However, as I accelerate and shift there's a loud
noise, like a shudder as the clutch engages and then it stops. This only happens
between shifts and stops afterwards. Thanks for any help.

 

you definitely need to replace your cv boot asap, or just get a whole new axle (it's easier to do the whole axle, plus you don't know if the joint is shot or not) you just needa 17 or 14 mm allenwrench and a 8mm triple-square/12 pt,plusyour regualr metricwrenches, sockets.

 

Yeah it needs to be replaced. I am just wondering if
a CV joint could cause this (here's the link http://media.putfile.com/Problem-23)
because I've had this problem for a while now and I just recently
noticed the torn CV boot while doing an oil change. In the video
the noise is generated every time the clutch engages and
the wheels start spinning. Any input is appreciated.

 

it's really hard to tell anything from a video, it's more of something you have to feel to know for sure. it does sound like the cv joint is bad, though, so on that information i'd go ahead and replace that axle.