Toyota Repair: Transmission et al., toyota camry, sway bar

Question
Hi, how's it going? So here's the deal: I have a 1994 Toyota Camry coupe with
4 cyl, 2.2 L engine and automatic transmission. A few recent quirks with the car are
bothering me. Here it goes:

1.
When driving it on reverse, if I accelerate a little (step on the gas a bit),
the car makes a 'thud' noise and shakes for a moment, as if it just banged into
something or hit something underneath. It only happens if I gas it up a bit during
reverse; if I let it reverse just by the default torque from the engine (i.e. not
stepping on gas), it never does that scary thud-shake combo. Any idea what the
problem might be? I'd appreciate it if you could suggest anything that might help
isolate the problem.

2.
The rear two shocks squeak as it runs over speedbumps. Are the shocks dying or
just needs lubrication? Is there any such thing as lubricating the shocks?
If I leave the shocks as it is, how safe is to keep driving the car?

3.
A weird, unpleasant smell often comes from the vents as the ac is swithched on but
dissappears after a minute or so. I read on some car forums that it might be mold
growing in the vents and they suggest using some sort of chemical spray to clean it. What
do you think?

4.
Back to the transmission. When the transmission is cold (the first 15/20 mins of
driving) it shifts rather smoothly. But after driving a while, the gear shifts are noticeably
rougher, especially the first to second gear shifts. I had the transmission flushed about
a month ago as the old fluid was thick and dirty. What might be causing it to choke
when hot?  


Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.


Answer
Questions #1and4 sound like that there is a transmission problem, possibly slipping clutches caused by an internal hydraulic leak, this can be checked by having a pressure test and stall tests done at either a toyota dealer or a good transmission shop.
The squeek may be coming from something else like maybe the sway bar or the sway bar bushings or even the muffler mounting points.
There are McPherson struts in the front and rear,not shocks, the springs are mounted on the struts so there could be a problem at the top where the struts mount to the body that can cause the squeek, you can try spraying the springs where they contact the spring seats with some WD-40 and see if it helps.
There are some chemical applications to get rid of the mold in the a/c system, they involve drilling a hole into the air ducting and spraying a foam type cleaner into the ducts with the fan on high speed, any a/c shop should be able to help with this if not contact the toyota dealer.