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There are so many rattles and causes but a car of that mileage requires a little investigation, First check for missing exhaust mounts, especially in the rear where the final pipe just after the muffler should be hanging from two rubber links and the pipe itself held snug there by a metal brace hanging from those rubber biscuits. Then look at the top of your strut towers for any abnormalities there as a torn rubber spring seat could let the top of the strut rattle. Make sure the big washers at the top of the strut (open the hood and look to the left and right towards the fire wall,) are not being pressed upon by torn spring seats.This would possibly result in some squeaking as you turn as well, the sound of the rubber spring seat pressed against those washers. Spring seats can fail if the pivot plate they press against ( its three nuts sit on the strut tower ) seizes up and refuses to turn when you turn the steering wheel Then drive down a dirt road at five miles an hour or more and with the door open, listen for rattling coming from the wheels. Note whether you hear the rattle on bumps or do you just hear it from road vibration. If it is coming from the wheel on the drivers side, or both front wheels, pull into a parking lot and bring the car to a stop with the steering turned all the way towards the offending wheel. Then get out and looking from the front of the car, take a look at the works on the other side of the wheel. At the lower section of the wheel , you will see a ball joint that will rattle when worn out. If the rubber boot around that ball joint is torn in half , then the ball joint is worn, has developed so much play that it has torn the little boot that it is clothed in and is easily the source of your rattle.You have a failed control arm which on Volvos has the ball joint built into it.
Next if you remove the wheel and notice that a steel rod going from the strut down to an iron rod is loose and you can feel play as you move it with your hand, you may have a worn sway bar link or the nut tying it to the strut is loose. This tends to be heard on speed bumps.
Finally another source of the rattle is the tie rod end, the little hand that reaches out of your steering rack and moves the wheel as you turn. It too has a ball joint that can wear out. All ball joints pivot but they should never be so loose as to rock back and forth. Worn ball joints throw the wheel out of alignment and uneven tire wear is a later sign of that
All these are possible on a car of your vintage.Note when the rattle occurs or goes away such as on turns. Don't postpone repair indefinitely on worn ball joints. A cheap way to get help diagnosing these issues if you're in a crunch is to take the car in for an alignment and then listen carefully when they explain why they won't be able to do it.
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