if im in 4th i cant downshift into third inless i hold clutch in slip to second then to third then left off the clutch...ive tryed giving it more gas didnt work i tryed downshifting at lower rpm didnt work...its like theres a block there in way no matter what it wont downshift into third any ideas whats wrong and how to fix it???

 

it doesn't grind at all does it?
I have a similiar problem going into 5th gear sometimes.

 

no grinding....its like there is a metal block that goes infront of the area for thrid once i shift into 4th...car drives fine its just annoying not being able to downshift directly into 3rd gear...

 

i just changed shifters today to a brand new pro 5.0 shifter and still having the same problem...anybody know whats wrong...

 

Synchronizers probably.

 

I know this is really old and have done some searching and haven't found a solution. I too have the same exact problem, it's annoying as hell. Have you figured out what the problem is/was?

I am taking my car into the shop Wednesday to have a new throwout bearing, pressure plate, flywheel, and clutch put in, I'll see if the problem goes away after this.

 

Most likely it is a synchro issue as mentioned. There is another possibility though. I'm assuming the shifter mechanism is the same as on a T5 and has a small block of metal that the shifter shaft fits into. This block of metal is attached to the rod that moves the shift forks back and forth to change gears. On a T5, that block of metal has a small nub on the bottom that slides through grooves in the bottom of the tailshaft housing to give you the "path" for the shifter to follow when you are changing gears and the "stops" when you're in gear. If those grooves are messed up it can make it hard or impossible to go from one gear to the next like you are experiencing. I only mention this cause I messed up the grooves in my T5's tailshaft housing and now I sometimes have the exact same problem going from 5th to 4th. I go to 3rd and it drops smoothly into 4th. The synchros in my T5 are fine, the whole thing was just rebuilt in '09 and only has 3K miles on it so I know they aren't the problem in my case.