The intermittent exhaust noise was the manifold-to-downpipe joint leaking when the pipe was wiggled. 2 out of 3 bolts on the joint were only finger tight and the joint was sealed with some sort of orange gloppy stuff (put there when I first bought the car and brought it to a dubious mechanic to fix an exhaust leak, I guess). $9 for the proper gasket from the Volvo dealer and 1 hr later - the leak is gone. FCP would have been much cheaper, but I didn't want to wait for shipping.

Unfortunately, when I had the car up on jackstands to tighten the exhaust nuts from the bottom (the easiest way if skinned knuckles aren't your thing), I noticed about 1/16" of side-to-side play in the right front wheel about the steering axis. The outer tie rod ends are less than a year old, and I could see the tie rod itself moving in relation to the rack, so I guess it's time for new inner tie rod ends. Are the $19.00 'aftermarket' tierod ends from FCP Groton any good, or will I be doing the job all over in 6 months if I use them?

See, told you my car was annoyed at me for even looking at another car!

Thanks,
-b.