I'm having trouble getting through the portcullises in the fire trap rooms...tried pushing a crate in front of me to jam it open, but that didn't work...tried running and jumping, but the portcullis is too quick. Please help!

If your still not through McGookin, leave the crate you have up against the portcullis. Now go back and get another. This time, when you run at the door (you are holding shift down to run aren't you) the crate you are holding in front of you will hit the crate in front of the portcullis and push it into the doorway thus blocking the bars from dropping. Now simply keep motoring, and push the whole mess through.