[69birdboy]

That ^^^^ sorta stuff is a deal breaker,all bets off ~ no telling what's happening now,especially if the engine was'nt pulled & completely torn down and all the loose trash thoroughly cleaned out inside,and all bearings and wear surfaces checked for damage or such.

It really annoys me when we only get part of the story upfront,only to find out about important stuff like that later on.

My apologies. It didn't even occur to me that this had happened and could be related until I pulled the filter off and found what looked like a mangled piece of valvetrain. It is curious that the engine made it several thousand miles before developing any problems from this, though.

I guess it's time to pull the motor in any case, whether it's ruined all the bearings or just a stuck relief.