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Dear Hack8,
Hope you're well. You face the same job I face. The problem likely is not the sway bar links. The source of the noise likely is the cone bushings, found where the control arm stay (brace) attaches to the control arm. These rubber bushings are somewhat fragile. When the cone bushings deteriorate, the control arm stay can move. I'd guess you hear a "clunk", when the wheel goes over a bump. If so, you need to change the cone bushings.
I will shortly install polyurethane cone bushings made by www.ipdusa.com. The kit - four bushings, two bolts, and some threat-lock - costs about $30.
Prepare to remove the two bolts, that secure the control arm stay to the control arm and the control arm to the chassis, by saturating the bolt heads (control arm-to-control arm stay) and bolt heads and nuts (control arm stay to chassis) with a penetrating oil (PB Blaster, Kroil, etc.). It may take a few days for these oils to work their way through micro-channels in any corrosion. These oils weaken any corrosion bonds, that may have formed. A daily saturation for three or four days should greatly ease removal of the bolts/nuts.
It is also possible. that the bushings - at the other end of the control arm stays - have failed. Those bushings are pressed into the control arm. If your car has steel control arms, it is possible to buy replacement control arms, with new bushings in place. If your car has aluminum control arms, you'll need to buy the bushings (#1273235) and find an automotive machine shop, where you can have the old bushings removed and the new ones installed. I'd use genuine Volvo bushings. They should be about $25 each.
As to your direct question, there is a torque spec in the Volvo pocket data booklet - Cars (700, 850, 900) 1991 - 1996 (p. 120). That spec - 44 pound feet - applies to the bolt, that secures the sway bar link to the control arm. At the other end of this "lollypop" sway bar link, are the two bushings, on either side of the anti-sway bar. So far as I know, there's no torque spec for that nut. To tighten it to 44 pound feet would crush the bushings and make them useless. Rather, that nut should be tightened just enough to compress the bushings.
On cars, with aluminum control arms, the sway bar link may be a steel rod, that is threaded at both ends. In that case, both nuts (one at the bottom of the link, which goes through the control arm, and one at the top of the link, which goes through the anti-sway bar) are tightened just enough to compress the bushings.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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