TJMaxx, from one Connecticut VXer to another - who was the offending dealer?

For what it's worth, I think it must have been a cross-threaded plug - I cannot imagine any other cause, and I've never even heard of such a thing happening to anyone. They may have pulled the plugs to check for evidence of poor combustion (every mechanic I know can tell what's wrong with a poorly-running engine by looking at the plugs), but I guess that wouldn't have been the one to pull; or the mechanic pulled the valve cover off to make the intake gasket replacement easier (my buddy who used to have a Trooper with the 3.2L just told me that's how he did it).

Although it's absolute nonsense for them to say that "they don't pull the valve cover off to change the intake gasket" (really, how can a service manager categorically say that there's no way in the world that the mechanic in the shop didn't pull it durign the repair that happened 2 months prior?!), they're not going to willingly admit their mistake.

Good luck!!!