Cam specs are as follows......Intake - 284 Exhaust - [email protected] In - 224 Ex - 224 with a 112 Lob sep angle. I ordered it from Hardin marine with the guidance of one of the techs.

I'm going to put it back together this week and try to run it this weekend. I'm running valvoline VR1 10w40. Oil temp never really came up and I didn't really pay attention. I only ran it long enough to load the engine down a couple of times and then did one short run down a short stretch of lake. I will be sure to document that this weekend.

That is fairly small cam for 502. Smaller than a stock HP500cam. It should not have reversion.
https://www.hardin-marine.com/p-1161...-camshaft.aspx

Clean on the stick and milky just under the valve covers means your not getting it up to temp long enough. Could be too cold a thermostat. Could be just not running it long enough once it's warmed up. It takes a while to evaporator it out of the oil. Your car will do the same thing if you never drive it more than a few miles at a time. But no one ever looks at their car looking for issues of condensation.

For sure, I have new riser gaskets that I am going to put on the exhaust and try to run it again. I know it was leaking there and hopefully once i have that sured up, it will be all good.

Paint this stuff on both sides of gaskets. Wear gloves and if your are doing it in a boat, keep the can in a small pail or a 2 gallon bucket. Seems it always gets kicked or knocked over.

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-aviation-form-a-gasket-no-3-sealant-liquid/?locale=en_us

maybe not the same but on my Gil manifolds the threaded holes for the manifold to risers studs and NOT blind. They need sealant. Are the Hardins the same way? Are the holes for the risers studs drilled thru? Did you put sealant on the manifold to riser studs?

Good Idea! Thanks

You are correct. I thought that they would be blind but when i took them apart they are drilled through on the exhaust side. I don't think there is any chance of water getting to the studs unless the header is bad.