Abstract: A tie rod end includes a stud with a spherical ball at one end and a bearing having a concave spherical bearing running surface for sliding abutment with the ball. The contact area of the ball or the bearing running surface has a lubrication groove to facilitate channeling grease, wherein the grooved member is coated with a bonded lubrication coating. The lubrication coating reduces the initial preload torque from that which would be ordinarily be perceived as undesirable to a torque that is perceived as desirable. The lubrication coating is substantially consumed on the high contact area over about 100 to 500 thousand cycles, with the resulting torque being remaining greater than zero, which is also perceived as being desirable.

Abstract: A tie rod end includes a stud with a spherical ball at one end and a bearing having a concave spherical bearing running surface for sliding abutment with the ball. The contact area of the ball or the bearing running surface has a lubrication groove to facilitate channeling grease, wherein the grooved member is coated with a bonded lubrication coating. The lubrication coating reduces the initial preload torque from that which would be ordinarily be perceived as undesirable to a torque that is perceived as desirable. The lubrication coating is substantially consumed on the high contact area over about 100 to 500 thousand cycles, with the resulting torque being remaining greater than zero, which is also perceived as being desirable.

Abstract: A joint device comprising a housing having a bearing for a headed stud, a concave element engaged on the stud head in close fitted position with the internal surface of the housing, and a spun over lip of the housing deforming the concave element on the stud head to exert a desired preload on that stud head while forming its own stop groove in the housing internal surface to prevent lock-up of the headed stud in the housing.

Abstract: The assembling of a ball joint to obtain a consistent torque reaction value of a desired level is accomplished by applying a torque responsive probe to the shank of a headed stud such that the rotation of the headed stud will develop a signal proportional to the torque reaction of the headed stud on the bearings in the ball joint, closing the housing upon the headed stud while sensing the torque reaction to be able to stop the closing of the housing when the torque reaction of the headed stud in the housing has reached a desired value, and applying the assembling technique to a run of similar ball joints to produce consistency of results.

Abstract: A front wheel drive vehicle having a frame and an engine set transversely across the width of the frame, and an engine torque strut between the engine and the frame for resisting the torque reactions during engine acceleration and during vehicle forward and reverse operation, and for retaining the engine in a known position. The torque strut comprises a housing having one end pivotally attached to the engine, a piston rod at the opposite end pivotally attached to the vehicle frame, resilient means in the housing on opposite sides of a piston under a pre-load, hydraulic fluid in the housing on opposite sides of the piston, and flow control means in the strut for regulating the transfer of hydraulic fluid to opposite sides of the piston upon piston displacement in the housing, the flow control means and the resilient means damping the engine torque reactions.