Tranny synchro, clutch, or Master cylinder?

Howdy, I'm new to the group and to jeeps in general. I just bought a 95 yj with the 2.5L 4 banger and 5 speed(ax-5?) Tranny.

I just want to be sure before I start replacing parts that I am on the right track: my tranny grinds going in to every gear, I can pop it in neutral for a second, get the tac to about 2500 or 3k and it will shift up pretty good but trying to down shift is a grinding nightmare. I'm thinking synchro's are gone? It looks like someone before me changed out the tranny fluid and it's up to the fill plug, the slave cylinder was leaking when I checked it for air so I replaced it an bled the lines w/o improvement, i see no leaks from the master cylinder and it has the appropriate fluid level(made sure it stayed full during the bleeding process). I don't notice it pulling when I put it in gear an put my foot on the clutch so I don't think its a clutch issue?

Does it sound like a synchro issue or is there something I am missing? Ive read the ax-5 is crap and I'd really like to do a full swap to a ford 300 straight 6 down the road, but not just yet. Anyone got any sage wisdom for me?

 

Welcome from Oklahoma.
Does the clutch pedal have pressure or does it go to (or almost to) the floor?

 

Hi Runner, the clutch seems to have good pressure. Before I change the slave cylinder out I noticed that at times it would go to the floor and then after a few pumps it would have good pressure again. I attributed that to the slave cylinder leaking, and since I have changed the slave cylinder out I haven't had any more episodes where I've had no pressure it's had consistent good pressure. It's not quite as firm as any other standard I've ever driven, but I don't think I've ever driven anything else with a hydraulic clutch I'm not sure what's in my 09 mustang but it is a lot stiffer