Subject vehicle:  1992 Toyota Pickup, V6, 3.0 L, Auto Tranny, 2wd,
120k miles.

After dying at 3 am in the middle of nowhere and towing the truck to
the dealer where they tried to get me to replace the starter ($600)
because it was an aftermarket one instead of a Toyota OEM, I towed it
out of there and to a tranny shop. I told the dealer it was not the
starter and something in the tranny housing went wrong.  I'll never
trust a dealer again!  The tranny guys dropped the tranny and found a
broken flywheel.  OK great know I really know the dealer had no idea
what was up or was trying to screw me.

But the tranny guys want me to replace the torque converter because it
"may have been damaged".  Or better yet, since there a little leakage
in the tranny, just rebuild the whole thing for a small $2000.  He
gave me 50/50 odds on the torque converter being damaged and said
there's really no way to tell unless you just install it and drive.

Can the the torque converter really be damaged without visibly seeing
or measuring any damage? Can one make measurements to make sure the
torque converter is OK?  Do I really need a rebuild?

UUGGGHHH.  Can I really trust a mechanic?

Thanks,

Sparky