You can surmise condition of the ball joints and all four tie rods with all connected.

Probably the best way, and it can change alignment a bit when you re-secure it, is to remove the three bolts securing the ball joint to the control arm and merely move around the, I dunno hhwhut you call, tongue or flange or I dunno, and get a feel.

If the boot that seals the grease in and keeps the weather and road grime out has split or no longer seals, replace it.

The same for the steering rack inner (inside the accordion boot) tie and outer tie rod (ball joints).

As for the lower, rear (large) control arm bushes, well, with everything bolted together, you can turn a wheel, say the left front wheel out, like you're making a left turn, and soundly kick the tire at about nine on (front, middle) of the tire. Sort of an observation as to how the wheel responds. If the wheel trembles with rotation, that could mean the large control arm is failing, partly split, or separated. Could also mean the strut mount may have play at the bearing.

The control arm, Volvo OEM PN 1272455, with which we now have OEM quality issues in a turbobricks article I'll ad the link to here shortly, and also replied to today, will show failure at visual inspection if the:
- bushing materials is separating from the outer shell interior
- bushing material is separating from the outside of the inner bearing assembly shell.
- severely domed, such that the bushing domes upward, raising the top lip of the bearing assembly outer shell above the lip that is part of the inner fender whole through which you see the top of the strut mount.
- cracks or, worse, concentric tears and cracks through the busing material around the central bearing assembly shell.

Even new after market strut mounts do this in short order. I had a set of UROs that lasted 10 years and about 45,000 miles. The Meyle, though, lasted about 4-5000 miles and three years. They were doming so bad the not very dense bushing material was pulling away from the bearing assembly shell.

Good strut mounts, like the Volvo OEM I did buy from Task Volvo, last time in 2013, and were cheaper than OEM from iPd and FCP, and others, have a center bearing assembly that is made of a ball bearing assembly. URO, Meyle, anything made in the West Pacific will use sealed bearings. Sealed bearing do not take lateral stress at all well. That would be the up and down movement the strut cartridge dampens.

The turbobricks thread: Volvo OEM strut mount early failure:
http://www.turbobricks.org/forums/showthread.php?p=5284152

We can go into the rear suspension bushes, yet those are visual inspection and some poking with a work light. I'll bet the bushings at each end of both torque rods at the rear of your 1992 Volvo 240 have failed. These are not solid bushings, yet when these fail, the trailing arm bushes can fail faster. So, check them. I've used solid urethane bushed with lots of silicon grease (SuperLube) to hold the rear bushes on my 1992 (160,xxx) and my 1990 (180,xxx) together so far.

How are the motor mounts? Automatic or manual transmission? transmission mount? Some of these are wear items. If manual, check the giubo (flex disc behind the transmission) for crack.

It's not merely the miles, yet also the age of the 1992 Volvo 240 and the rubber suspension parts. Grease ages, sealing elements have suffered more years of exposure, or not, if a garage queen, the rubber is also exposed and oxidizes.

It would not hurt to inspect the front wheel bearings for grease pack quality and play on the spindle. Also, is the rear seal still sealing. Clean and repack with quality NLGI-2 grease.

The rear wheel bearings would appreciate an inspection, cleansing, and repack with fresh NLGI-2 grease.

Questions?

Hope that helps.

MacDuffed.
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