So I found the issue – what looked like a bolt was loose in the timing gears. Ugh. Did some damage to the cover – see picture – but gears look ok so far. Sourcing a new cover locally, hopefully they can get it to me today. You can see where it got chewed up and also evidence that the cam gear was forced out against the cover. That likely explains the earlier issues with the injector pump. I thought it might be the killer dowel pin but that seems intact. Am going to bar the motor over to check gears and see if I can find out where the offending piece came from… Proceeding with extreme caution and diligence.
Boating Adventures 