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A spherical joint features a housing, a lower race seated therein, a ball member disposed between said lower race and an upper race position, and a retaining ring installed directly over the upper race in an annular groove inside the housing. In one embodiment, a retaining member is threaded into th

A spherical joint features a housing, a lower race seated therein, a ball member disposed between said lower race and an upper race position, and a retaining ring installed directly over the upper race in an annular groove inside the housing. In one embodiment, a retaining member is threaded into the housing over the retaining ring. The joint is fully serviceable by removal of the retaining member and ring. Prior to component replacement, initial wear can be compensated for, as the groove is oversized so as to originally lie partially below the ring-abutted upper surface of the upper race. When the upper race moves down the body as a result of surface wear of one or more of the races and ball member, tightening of the retaining member once again forces the retaining ring down against the upper race to re-tighten the races against the ball member disposed therebetween.

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1. A spherical automotive joint comprising: a housing comprising a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open, internally threaded, upper end of said housing body toward an opposing lower end of said housing body;an externally threaded retaining membe

1. A spherical automotive joint comprising: a housing comprising a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open, internally threaded, upper end of said housing body toward an opposing lower end of said housing body;an externally threaded retaining member arranged to threadingly engage the internal threading at the upper end of the housing body;a ball member sized to fit within the hollow interior of the housing body and defining a spherically contoured concave outer surface extending around a ball axis of said ball member;a lower race sized to seat within the hollow interior of the housing body adjacent the lower end thereof and having a spherically contoured upward facing concave surface for conforming receipt of the concave outer periphery of the ball member therein to seat the ball member atop the lower race in a manner allowing tilting of the ball axis and rotation of the ball member thereabout;a steel upper race sized to fit within the hollow interior of the housing body over the ball member and having a spherically contoured downward facing concave surface for surmounting the ball member when tiltably and rotatably seated on the lower race;an annular groove in a peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body at a position that is adjacent to an upper portion of the upper race when said upper race is surmounted on the ball member, an inner diameter of the housing being greater at said annular groove than at the internal threading of the open upper end of the housing; anda retaining ring engaged in the annular groove around the boundary wall of the hollow interior of the housing body in a position residing between upper and lower walls of the annular groove and exposed to direct contact with both the upper portion of the upper race and the upper wall of the annular groove, which is located between the retaining ring and the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing and blocks movement of the retaining ring toward the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing;wherein the interior space of the housing is free of any other components between the annular groove and the internally threaded upper end of the housing such that the retaining member, the retaining ring and the annular groove alone define an only mechanism of the spherical automotive joint for blocking movement of the upper race toward and through the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing. 2. The spherical joint of claim 1 wherein the housing body comprises an integrally defined lower seat arranged for seating of the lower race thereagainst after insertion of the lower race into the hollow interior of the housing body through the upper end thereof. 3. The spherical joint of claim 2 wherein the lower seat is an annular seat closing around a bottom opening of the hollow interior of the housing body at the lower end thereof. 4. The spherical joint of claim 1 wherein the retaining ring is a snap ring. 5. The spherical joint of claim 1 wherein the retaining ring is a spiral lock ring. 6. The spherical joint of claim 1 wherein the upper race and the ball member is a steel ball member, comprise bodies of a same material. 7. The spherical joint of claim 6 wherein the steel upper race and the steel ball member have different surface hardness properties. 8. The spherical joint of claim 7 wherein the steel ball member has a greater surface hardness than the steel upper race. 9. The spherical joint of claim 7 wherein the steel upper race and the steel ball member comprise a same steel material. 10. The spherical joint of claim 9 wherein the steel upper race and the steel ball member are alloy steel. 11. The spherical joint of claim 10 wherein the alloy steel is 4140 steel. 12. A method of forming a spherical automotive joint, the method comprising: obtaining a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open, internally threaded, upper end of said housing body toward an opposing lower end of said housing body, and an annular groove found in a boundary wall of the hollow interior of the housing body at a location between the upper and lower ends of the housing body;seating a lower race within the hollow interior of the housing body adjacent the lower end thereof;placing a ball member atop the lower race in a manner allowing tilting of the ball axis and rotation of the ball member thereabout;placing a steel upper race atop the ball member;engaging a retaining ring in the annular groove found around the boundary wall of the hollow interior of the housing body to place the retaining ring directly adjacent an upper portion of the upper race in a position residing between upper and lower walls of the annular groove and exposed to direct contact with both the upper portion of the upper race and the upper wall of the annular groove, which is located between the retaining ring and the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing and blocks movement of the retaining ring toward the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing, and an inner diameter of the housing being greater at said annular groove than at the internal threading of the open upper end of the housing;threadingly engaging an externally threaded retaining member in the internal threading at the upper end of the housing body; andleaving the hollow interior of the housing free of any other components between the annular groove and the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing such that the retaining member, the retaining ring and the annular groove alone define an only mechanism of the spherical automotive joint for blocking movement of the upper race toward and through the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing. 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the upper race and the ball member comprise bodies of a same steel material, and the method includes, before placing the ball member and the upper race in the hollow interior of the housing body, surface treating only one of said ball member and said upper race to impart a different surface hardness to said one of said ball member and said upper race relative to the other of said ball member and said upper race. 14. A spherical automotive joint comprising: a housing comprising a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open, internally threaded, upper end of said housing body toward an opposing lower end of said housing body;an externally threaded retaining member arranged to threadingly engage the internal threading at the upper end of the housing body;a steel ball member sized to fit within the hollow interior of the housing body and defining a spherically contoured concave outer surface extending around a ball axis of said ball member;a lower race sized to seat within the hollow interior of the housing body adjacent the lower end thereof and having a spherically contoured upward facing concave surface for conforming receipt of the concave outer periphery of the ball member therein to seat the ball member atop the lower race in a manner allowing tilting of the ball axis and rotation of the ball member thereabout;a steel upper race sized to fit within the hollow interior of the housing body over the ball member and having a spherically contoured downward facing concave surface for surmounting the ball member when tiltably and rotatably seated on the lower race;an annular groove in a peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body at a position that is adjacent to an upper portion of the upper race when said upper race is surmounted on the ball member, an inner diameter of the housing being greater at said annular groove than at the internal threading of the open upper end of the housing; anda retaining ring engaged in the annular groove around the boundary wall of the hollow interior of the housing body in a position residing between upper and lower walls of the annular groove and exposed to direct contact with both the upper portion of the upper race and the upper wall of the annular groove, which is located between the retaining ring and the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing and blocks movement of the retaining ring toward the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing;wherein the interior space of the housing is free of any other components between the annular groove and the internally threaded upper end of the housing such that the retaining member, the retaining ring and the annular groove alone define an only mechanism of the spherical automotive joint for blocking movement of the upper race toward and through the open, internally threaded, upper end of the housing; andwherein the steel ball and steel upper race comprise a same alloy steel, and one of the steel ball and the steel upper race has a greater surface hardness than the other of said steel ball and the steel upper race.