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my D8 2.1 is very stiff going into 2nd gear in the mornings from cold, when warmed up its fine, no probs or crunching at all

I'm thinking fresh oil needed in the box?

cheers for any info

Mine's also a bit like this, particularly in 1st and 2nd. Had a full service inc. box oil and that improved things a little, but it's still a bit reluctant to drop in at times.

The ML5T is cable linkages which are not usually a cause of this issue, unlike the rod linkages in the BE3 or BE4.

My remaining suspicion is the clutch, which is being changed in 2 weeks time, so I'll let you know if that improves things!

Ok mate cheers

Why are you having your clutch changed?, mine has a high biting point but ive been told its normal due to it being hydroulic

Yes the biting point is high, that's normal. I'm having it changed mainly because it's done 217k on its original clutch now, and it's starting to slip a little.

It's also getting gradually more difficult to slip into gear, and this is the only thing I can think of that would be causing it.

I'm also having the bottom mount done for good measure since the box has to come out for the clutch, and the driveshaft oil bearings since they're a bit leaky.

It might have Wrong oil in the Box,

Good point lozz, it's certainly worth changing the box oil first to see if that helps. The ML5T wants 75W80 IIRC.

Had the clutch and bottom mount etc done day before yesterday - wow what a difference! Feels like a new car.

New Valeo clutch, biting point starts a little lower than before but uses more of the pedal's travel before it's fully engaged. The clutch feels a lot lighter.

It is noticeably easier to get into gear, though still not perfect. So I'm assuming the clutch was the major contributor to that problem, but maybe worn synchros are causing the remaining difficultly. Still, it's better than it has been in years, so I'm happy.

Put some Molyslip in the box,
Makes a big differnce to tired gearbox's imho