plug in hole of torque converter housing on 4R70 transmission?

I had my 2000 Lincoln with a 4.6 liter engine in the shop last March for a tranny flush and was crawling around underneath checking it today, Ford was nice enough to allow us to access the torque converter to drain it and there is a hole to get to the torque converter plug in the bell housing.

My question is...should this hole in the torque converter be open to the elements? I have checked online and with You Tube, there seems to be some mention of a plug, but no further info. I find it strange that this would be left open to the elements. I live in Central Texas, so no road salt slush or the grit of the desert like in Arizona. The 4R70 tranny is common to Ford products.

Anybody know if there is a plug of some kind to keep the elements out of the torque converter?

Thanks.

It is just a rubber plug that keeps debris out of the bellhousing. We have about 1000 Fords in our fleet and there are a lot of them that are missing the plug. You could buy one and install it if you wish, but I don't think there will be any issues.

Thanks for your reply, way2old. I was re-checking again this morning under my Lincoln and saw the black rubber plug, so my tranny was protected. Many of the photos online of my model of transmission via the re builders seemed to have the plug missing, was curious about it.

On the 1970's vintage Oldsmobile's there was a plastic cover that bolted up to the lower bell housing and on my 1973 Delta 88 using the turbo 400 tranny, it was missing when I bought it, got a replacement and the tranny never acted up, but I did wonder why and for how long the car was driven like that in the Minnesota winters.