Only thing I can come up with is the cams gear teeth have edges that shaved on that bronze gear when meshed as that’s what I have read elsewhere as occurring when I was looking for gears to run on my billet roller. That’s why I mentioned early on about some having radiused them. Removing the edge on the cams gear teeth. You have any bore gauges big enough to measure that bushing before chewing it up to remove? A caliper to measure the shaft?