Patent ID: 8747012

Claim:
A tie rod and assembly for a vehicle comprising: a tie rod having a stud portion and ball member at one end; a housing member having an internal cavity open at least at one end; said tie rod ball member positioned in said cavity in said housing; a lower bushing member positioned in said housing cavity between said ball member and an inner surface of said cavity; said lower bushing member having a curved surface at a first end corresponding to the curvature of the ball member and having a first plurality of axial lubrication grooves therein; an upper bushing member positioned in said housing cavity between said ball member and said lower bushing member; said upper bushing member having a curved surface corresponding to the curvature of the ball member and having a second plurality of lubrication grooves therein; and the curved surface of the upper bushing member and the curved surface of the lower bushing member being coated with an anti-friction coating to provide said stud portion with a preload torque of 30-40 in-lbs at initial assembly and wherein said anti-friction coating is consumable at a rate such that said preload torque of said stud portion decreases from 30-40 in-lbs at initial assembly by a rate of approximately 1 in-lb per 100,000 cycles.