Well thanks for the pointers. I don't have the facilities/money/skill to do major tear downs. I'm well connected to a lot of automotive gurus though. Previous owner just didn't have the common sense to do this kind of routine maintenance, probably never took the engine cover off....
I planned to have the UIM, valve cover gaskets, LIM gasket, thermostat, EGR replaced by my guru mechanic and go from there. I figure he can also replace the sensors/hoses that are compromised as well. It just behaves like it has a vacuum leak and I'm betting that with the above maintenance it should improve.
I drove 1200 problem-free miles in this car after i changed the oil/plugs/wires/fuel filter myself, and that includes 4 2+ hour trips across Michigan for a total of at least 9 hours doing 75 on the freeway. Is it really conceivable that this engine is about to "destroy" itself? In less than 500 miles I plan to have the UIM replaced.
