An apparatus includes a housing; a spherical bearing disposed within the housing; a shaft disposed in part beneath the housing and penetrating a portion of the spherical bearing; a bellow circumscribing a lower portion of the housing and providing an interface between the spherical bearing and the shaft; and a cover adjacent a lower end of the bellow and having a circumferential groove configured to enable rotational movement of the bellow, the cover extending to and circumferentially surrounding a portion of the shaft to seal the shaft.

A universal axle-hub assembly is provided for an off-road vehicle. The universal axle-hub assembly comprises a wheel hub that receives a constant velocity (CV) axle snout into an opening extending through an axle support of the wheel hub. An outboard-most portion of the opening is a splined portion that engages with similar splines disposed on an outboard-most portion of the CV axle snout. An inboard-most portion of the opening is a smooth portion that receives a smooth portion of the CV axle snout. The axle support extends through an entirety of the width of a bearing that supports the wheel hub, such that the bearing supports the smooth portion of the CV axle snout and substantially eliminates shear forces acting on the splined portion of the CV axle snout. A bearing carrier supports the bearing and may be fastened onto a trailing arm or a spindle of the off-road vehicle.

A boot for a ball socket assembly in an automotive pivoting and/or rotating socket having a flange with one or more thinned sections or gates adjacent a point of attachment to a socket housing that provides an effective seal against contaminants when lubricant is not being added with external pressure and also flexes when exposed to internal pressure allowing contaminated lubricant to escape from the socket. A ring is embedded in the flange with inwardly directed teeth flanking the thinned sections or gates for securing the boot to the socket housing.

Systems and methods for improving vehicle rear suspension and operation and to reduce the 3D trajectory motion of the suspension components into separate linear and rotational movements, and allow for a more stable and steady vehicle ride.

A chassis component (16), with a first end section (17) and a second end section (18) and a connecting section (19) is arranged between the two end sections (17, 18). At least one ball joint (21) is associated with one of the two end sections (17, 18), and a sensor device (22) is associated with the ball joint (21). A first sensor element (23) of the sensor device (22) is arranged on the end section (18) that has the ball joint (21) and a second sensor element (24) is arranged on an inner joint component (25) of the ball joint (21). In order to avoid damage to the chassis component (16) and/or a disturbance-inducing factor for the sensor device (22) caused by a tensile or compressive load, the connecting section (19) has an elastically deformable zone (20) preferably in the longitudinal and/or the transverse direction of the vehicle.

A ball joint, in particular a chassis joint, which has a housing and a ball socket that comprises a ball bearing section for receiving a joint ball. An anti-rotation member prevents movement of the ball socket within the housing. To improve operational performance of the ball joint, the anti-rotation member is formed by a connecting element of the housing and a mating connecting element of the ball socket. The connecting elements have corresponding holding profiles so that, in an assembled condition, the connecting elements form a shape-enclosing plug-in connection.

A suspension and drive mechanism for a steerable wheel of a vehicle, comprising a wheel support assembly supporting the wheel having a rolling axis and a wheel width defined by inner and outer wheel edges. Front and rear upper control arms coupled between a chassis and the wheel support assembly, and front and rear lower control arms between the chassis and the wheel support assembly. The front and rear upper control arms being coupled to the wheel support assembly above the rolling axis and inboard of the wheel inner edge, and front and rear lower control arms being coupled to the wheel support assembly below the rolling axis and inboard of the wheel inner edge. The control arms are angled so as to establish a virtual steering pivot axis for the wheel support assembly, the virtual steering pivot axis extending transverse of the rolling axis and located within the width of the wheel. The virtual steering pivot axis location varies according to a steering angle of the wheel support assembly as controlled by the steering arm. An electric drive unit arranged within the wheel for driving thereof, and at least one of the virtual pivots that lie on said virtual steering pivot axis lies within the volume occupied by the electric drive unit during at least one point in the steering travel of said wheel.

This stabilizer link includes a metal support bar, and ball joints that are provided at both ends of the support bar. Each ball joint includes a ball stud one end of which is fastened to a suspension device or a stabilizer, and which has a ball part at the other end thereof, and a housing that rotatably supports the ball part of the ball stud. The support bar includes: a body part extending in a nearly linear shape, and reinforcement parts each having a nearly annular shape and each provided at both ends of the body part. The reinforcement parts of the support bar are each embedded in the housing so as to surround the ball part.

A vehicle suspension arm includes: a wheel support portion which supports a wheel through a ball joint serving as a joining member; a front side vehicle body installation portion serving as a vehicle body installation portion which is installed in a vehicle body; and a wheel side portion which joins the wheel support portion to the front side vehicle body installation portion. The wheel side portion includes an offset portion, which has a cross-sectional shape with a gravity center being offset upward or downward from a straight line that connects the ball joint to the front side vehicle body installation portion.

To provide a vibration control bush that ensures improved durability of a rubber elastic body. An inner pipe film portion of the vibration control has an inclined surface whose inclination angle θ with respect to an axis O direction is set to one degree or more and less than three degrees, and the inner pipe film portion has an end portion in the axis O direction whose thickness dimension is set to a quarter or less of a dimension in an axis O perpendicular direction from an outer peripheral surface of an inner pipe to an apex of the protruding portion. This ensures reducing a rubber elastic body to deform so as to bend (close contact) between the inner pipe film portion and the outer pipe film portion when a load in a wrenching direction is input. Accordingly, a durability of the rubber elastic body can be improved.