Sorry it took so long to post, but just got to the filter/fluid change last night. I ended up just changing these and not opting for the full system change. Sorry to say that it made no difference. There were no actual chips or large particles in the pan or on the magnets, but there seemed to be loads of very fine particles (friction plate material?). So......not sure what to do at this point. I must make a decision to continue to fix or trade. Thanks for your help toyomoho - I greatly appreciate it!!