Recently purchased a '97 Turbo Wagon T-5 with 86,000. Sold my '94 854 with 131,000 miles in order to go with the turbo wagon that I've always wanted. Since I've purchased this car in August of '03, I've had numerous nickel and dime issues that I never experienced with my 94. The issues are listed below and any and all input is welcome. I'm brushing up on the "bay 13" site and am prepared to begin ordering parts online in order to handle some of these issues myself. Here goes.

1. When coming to a stop, I'm getting a moderate to heavy vibration and it feels like the rear brakes. This is intermittent. I've pulled both rear wheels because I've read about shim issues. It appears that shims are in place. It doesn't feel like a warp but when I look down on the brake assembly, I can see daylight between the outboard pad and the rotor on the left side. Is this normal? Also, the pads look like there is still life left.

2. For the first 4 months of ownership, the car did not leak a drop of oil. Practically overnight there were several spots that started leaking. My indy shop found oil leaks at the oil cap (gasket), the oil dipstick gasket, and the front cam seals. After having these replaced, I started getting another leak coming from the oil weep hole under the radiator which I understand comes from one of the turbo pipes. My mechanic says the rear main looks good at this time. After reading about high crankcase oil pressure, I'm concerned about these multiple leaks. Where should I start?

3. I've had multiple vacuum issues also in the last 3 months which have repeatedly turned on the check engine light. The first was a slit in the main turbo hose coming from the intercooler. After that, it was 2 elbows in the vaccum system. Just this weekend, after the car started running sluggish when I stepped on it, I searched around and found that the main tube leading to the "vacuum tower" (credit bay 13) that connects off of a thicker hose going into the vaccuum system on top of the engine, had a slit in it. After taping it up (to test), the car runs much better and is much faster. How many elbows are in the system total (I think I'll replace them all) and do these vacuum issues have anything to do with the oil leaks and seepage that I seem to have been experiencing at the same time.

Sorry for the long-winded questions but I appreciate in advance any light that can be shed on these issues.

thanks,
Todd