thanks for the reply. i'll def check if theres anything touching the rear header or not. i dont have any heat shields since im running the pacesetters, unless you meant the heat shields that came with the stock manifolds? i do have an electric oil pressure gauge, but for some reason its not working at the moment. its at 0psi but every once in a while it'll randomly flicker back and forth which i believe may be a loose wire r a bad ground somewhere. i already double-checked and tightened the sensor ground, so im thinking i have a tear on the wire as its running through the passenger firewall and the metal frame.