A ball joint assembly (20, 120), comprising: a housing (22, 122) having an open interior and extending from a first end that is at least substantially closed (24, 124) to a second end that is open (26, 126); a ball stud (68, 168) including a shank portion (70, 170) and a ball portion (72, 172), said ball portion (72, 172) being at least partially disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122); a first bearing disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122) and including a lower bearing (54, 154, 254) with a first contact surface (64, 164, 264) thereon and a bearing sleeve (52, 152, 252) with a second contact surface (58, 158, 258) thereon, said first (64, 164, 264) and second (58, 158, 258) contact surfaces being in sliding contact with said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168) and being spaced from one another by a gap, said first contact surface (64, 164, 264) being semi-spherically curved with a generally constant diameter, and said second contact (58, 158, 258) surface being generally cylindrical in shape; a second bearing (74, 174) formed as a separate piece from said first bearing and at least partially disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122) and including a third contact surface (76, 176) that is in sliding contact with said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168) and wherein said second bearing (74, 174) is biased against said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168); and characterized in that said first contact surface (64, 164, 264) is raised above a surface of said bearing sleeve (52, 152, 252) to provide said gap between said first (64, 164, 264) and second (58, 158, 258) contact surfaces. a housing (22, 122) having an open interior and extending from a first end that is at least substantially closed (24, 124) to a second end that is open (26, 126); a ball stud (68, 168) including a shank portion (70, 170) and a ball portion (72, 172), said ball portion (72, 172) being at least partially disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122); a first bearing disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122) and including a lower bearing (54, 154, 254) with a first contact surface (64, 164, 264) thereon and a bearing sleeve (52, 152, 252) with a second contact surface (58, 158, 258) thereon, said first (64, 164, 264) and second (58, 158, 258) contact surfaces being in sliding contact with said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168) and being spaced from one another by a gap, said first contact surface (64, 164, 264) being semi-spherically curved with a generally constant diameter, and said second contact (58, 158, 258) surface being generally cylindrical in shape; a second bearing (74, 174) formed as a separate piece from said first bearing and at least partially disposed in said open interior of said housing (22, 122) and including a third contact surface (76, 176) that is in sliding contact with said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168) and wherein said second bearing (74, 174) is biased against said ball portion (72, 172) of said ball stud (68, 168); and characterized in that said first contact surface (64, 164, 264) is raised above a surface of said bearing sleeve (52, 152, 252) to provide said gap between said first (64, 164, 264) and second (58, 158, 258) contact surfaces.