Mixed emotions

The other night when my favourite auto-technician was sitting in my garage trying to figure out what is wrong with his Bosch ESItronic setup, I asked him to just listen to the snapping noises my Toyota Corolla makes right after I start it. He says it is probably a timing belt tensioner, but it is best to check it as soon as possible and to bring it in the next day.

A little later my phone rings again, he says they only needed to adjust the tensioner. However, my exhaust manifold is cracked. I tell him that I know about the exhaust manifold problem: It cracked and was repaired by the previous owner, which unfortunately caused it to warp somewhat causing the exhaust port on cylinder 4 to whisper a little. I patched the problem with some gun-gum a couple of years ago and simply didn't get round to it again. He informs me that the problem is worse than that: it has cracked again (that would explain the somewhat loud whispering I've been hearing lately), and the studs that holds it to the cylinder head also needs replacing. The previous owner also messed up one of the threads, which needed a helicoil fitted.

A couple of months ago I parked on an incline one day, looked underneath the car and noticed the left outer CV joint boot was torn.

This sort of thing always leaves me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, if I didn't look I would not have known about the problem and I would have been quite happy. On the other hand, now that I've looked I am a little unhappy about the unexpected expenses, yet very glad that I noticed sooner rather than later.