Checking heat shields from underneath offers a better look-see. I have reached down and wiggled a shield only for it to be intact. From the underside....The back 1/2 was broken away.
Heres a tidbit for comment re: manifolds. Grinding material OFF to get a true surface leaves the manifold even more brittle.....and thinner. What stops an altered manifold from warping again? with less metal to warp? Is this the method of choice? Also, I have heard of guys doing the bolt repair job, and before re-installing the manifolds, they are heated up with a torch, to take the warp out?
The next step up from trying to square the old casting, is to buck up, and buy new ones. Don't these replacements also warp, breaking the bolts again? I'd really like to hear what people have experienced......not think, have gone thru.
Finally, shorty headers. Seems there are guys who will spend hundreds of bucks, to do the job ONCE. I get that.....yet with 114 K on my '14, hundreds seems like a stretch. What have you done to solve the problem, as inexpensively as is possible......