Sounds like I cast a line and reeling it back in

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2003 Mazda Protege LX
I had the timing belt and valve cover gasket replaced a little over 2 years ago. After that work I drove another 39K miles, then started to hear a "spinning reel" noise from the passenger side near the belts, only for a minute or two when I started the engine. About 2 weeks ago its become persistent, and I hear the same noise all the time, whether in neutral or in gear, tends to be a little louder in the morning when I first start the engine. A mechanic took a quick look under the hood and said when he pressed on the timing belt cover, it changed the pitch of the noise and thinks it could be a bad belt job. I called the original mechanic who did the work and he told me the warranty is for 24K miles or 2 years. Does that sound right? I thought timing belts were supposed to last 50K miles. The part was a Gates Timing Belt Kit TCK228. Thoughts?
 
The original mechanic should pull the timing belt cover to take a look. Many timing belts last 90,000 miles. It could be that either your belt is defective or a mistake was made during the installation.
 
The tensioner spring could be stretched or broken, the cover will need to come off to inspect it.
 
Any resolution to this? I had the same problem and it turned out being the plastic TB cover itself needed to be replaced. Dorman makes one that fits good enough.
 
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