Man, I'd like to know where the hell it might have come from. Doubt a tech threw it in there; they're more prone to miss a step . F1 or manual? I'd check all around it to make sure you have no leaks. Good luck man.
The only two places that comes to my mind is the gasket between engine and tranny and a gasket between the F1 actuator and the tranny.
When was the last time the oil was changed? What work was perfomed between then and now, if any? Sure looks like nasty worms. The good thing that the filter worked and that they are soft silicone, but it could have plugged an oil passage. Good Luck!!!!
What year model is the car? It could have been from production. Maybe a gasket was inadvertantly dropped into the tranny/motor during assembly, the person on assembly line just put another one on thinking that one would be chewed up??? That is weird!
This is exactly the reason when changing the Trans fluid this filter should be checked and cleaned and not avoided. Good choice on removing and cleaning this element. This could have been a big problem down the road. When I changed my Trans fluid I had some sludge build up, glad I checked. So word of advice on any DIYers to not avoid this step.
Yep, you need to check that filter at fluid service! On the 360 you need to drop the rear bumper, but better than dropping a transmission.
