Have you removed the broken pieces from the torque convertor. I ask this as I suspect the wrong bolts were used and bottomed out leaving the flexplate loose to the convertor. This is the only way I have seen the bolts break. Falling out would be a different matter.

The flex plate is only a small triangle of metal on that model. It is not part of the flywheel/ring gear arrangement.

I wouldn't worry about the trans. I guarantee you that if the trans had locked the bolts wouldn't be what gives. There are a number of points internally that would be much weaker. I imagine it was loose and it took a special type of driver to ignore all the noise that occured as it broke one bolt after another.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician