Yeh, that thing was hot & looks to have been dry there too!!Sometimes, even with tranny in hand, it takes awhile to figure out all the causes. That & worse is why the "professionals" no longer touch my trucks!
good flow from cooler? Checked where? Return Line)There is usually a one way valve in lines that stops up.(Mech said he removed it) Mine were all at heat exchanger. Fourth pic shows hole in shaft that needs to line up with return thru case & hole in retainer. All the Sonnax retainers I've seen had hole perfect with the case, but check yours to see. Will do! I would guess at first that shim on tail of shaft was gone or too thin which could block hole & let planetary housing rub. But pic of shaft looks to show the opposite. Looks to be not galled below planet, like shaft was forward, but that would keep planet away from retainer, unless the spot where planet housing rests on shaft has a lot of wear. Looks like excessive gap there in fourth pic, so probably worn there. If shaft was forward, raychem correct & front shaft could be pushing it rearward. Can you tell if pump was fully in housing by looking at gasket? More pics may show more, but you need to look deeper, depending on what you still have there. Put shaft in od section & see if races on shaft are too deep or stick out. Add retainer. It would be flush with case when assembled. How's the hole line up? What you weren't looking for may now be obvious. Maybe not. No matter what the problem, like your fried retainer, what all caused it? What else did the idiot that already spent your money screw up? When I was where you are now, I was about as hot as your retainer, but, for the money, I learned more than he ever will and know that I'd like to know more.