OptimusPrime

well guys im sure you dont want to hear about more random engine noises, but im out of ideas and i need some help. my '90 gxe has 107k on it and i fill it with premium gas and the oil level is fine. my timing is stock, my fuel filter has been replaced and my timing belt has just been replaced. recently ive noticed that while accelerating hard or when the engine is under load, i hear a faint pinging/tinking noise that is intermittent. it happens only at higher rpm as well, above 2500-3k rpm. since i dont run my car hard until it warms up i cant say for sure if it does it when its cold but i doubt its an exhuast stud noise, since it happens when the engine is warm, too (the gaskets would warm up, expand, and probably mask the noise). also since the noise only happens under load and at higher rpm, i dont think its the lifters. the engine doesnt loose any power, but this noise is bothering me and i dont want to hurt my engine!

here are my thoughts....could it be a bad spark plug that isnt firing right? maybe a bad bearing somewhere? do i need to retard my timing even farther?

sorry for this post being so long, but im trying to explain this as best i can. as a side note, before this came up my engine was making an awful thrashing/knocking noise that got worse with rpm and was very bad when the engine was cold. took it to my mechanic, and the problem ended up being a bad belt tensioner that was echoing through the timing belt cover.

ive done a thorough search and i havent been able to find any info that matched mine, so please dont flame me! any help would be appreciated. thanks!