Personally I cannot dispute your mechanic's analysis, if he says it is normal then it could be, but I can say that I have never heard a timing belt make that kind of noise before.
In my point of view any kind of abnormal noise or behavior from the timing belt would be a cause for concern and investigation so I do agree that it is worth looking into.
Here are a few questions I would be curious about.
1) Does the noise come from the front timing belt (cam) or the rear timing belt (inj pump)?
2) Have you or the mechanic checked the tension of both of those timing belts? I can see the possibility that a timing belt could make noise if it were excessively tight. The tension should be relatively relaxed on both belts, especially on a cold engine. As the engine warms up, the expansion of the block and head will cause the belt tension to increase, so on a warm engine you can expect the belts to feel tighter. But you should still feel some noticeable free movement in the belt. You never want it to feel pulled tight like a guitar string.
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86 745 D24T/ZF 345k lifted 2.5"
83 764 D24T/M46 155k
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