Over the past several months my engine has been making what sounds like lifter tick. The strange thing about it is when it happens. I can go several weeks without the noise and then it comes back again. I ran a compression test and all the numbers come back in the 180-195 range, the strange thing is #4 comes back at 210 the first time I test it but if I test it again it consistently comes back at 185. Another strange part is the engine can be ticking when I start it, I immediately turn it off, do a compression test, and when I'm done with the test I restart it the sound is gone. :? It also only seems to happen after I do a bunch of short trips. If I do any longer trips the sound will vanish and not come back for awhile. Is a lifter tick normally this sporadic? The car only has 57K miles and the engine runs great, idles smooth, and has good power. I have to do something. My beautiful wagon is starting to sound like a junk heap. 