I'm thinking about adding a tranny cooler to see if this helps but I can't find any faqs for the 3rd gen. Is there a faq for this and where is it?

My tranny has been getting pretty rough while idling in drive at a stop light, shifting it into neutral and the idle is smoothe. I'm guessing this has something to do with the torque converter and wondering if it could be caused by to much tranny fluid? I've replaced the tranny fluid quite often but I think I might have overfilled it some but can't be sure because the dipstick is hard to read and I keep forgetting to check the tranny when the car is cold.

The tranny is also making what I believe to be some sort of rattling noise while under heavy load and high temperature (not quite sure if this noise is from the tranny though). The noise has been happening for at least 70k miles but seems to be a little more pronounced (maybe it's cause of summer and warmer temperatures or because my stero is out of my car for the moment so I can hear it more.

Other then these two issues the car shifts like new and hasn't complained one bit, I'm hoping to stave off on any future problems if possible. The tranny has 190k on it and I believe but am not certain it is the original tranny.

Any ideas on the noise and some suggestions

 

Rattling noise under heavy load and/or high temperature sure sounds like spark knock to me. Maybe your timing is too far advanced. Alternatively, you might want to try using a higher octane fuel. If the noise goes away, yes you had spark knock. The only other thing I can think of is that your knock sensor is bad.

 

Even if the rattling is something else, a tranny cooler is a great investment. I dont recall ever seeing a FAQ about it, but it was pretty easy to install, there is a gap on the drivers side of the radiator and a/c that you can run your lines. The kits come with mounting zip ties, and its pretty easy to put in.

 

Yes it was pretty easy. Some advice is dont buy the 11"x11 3/4" cooler that i did. It barely fit and i had to bend the horn mounting bracket to make it fit.