Unitary compression member and wear indicator for a ball joint

Claim 1

A ball and socket type joint comprising: a hollow cylindrical housing defining an internal cavity; a ball unit including a head and a shank, said head being pivotally disposed within said internal cavity, said shank extending from the head; a wear plate disposed in said internal cavity having one end in abutment with said head of said ball unit; a closure plate secured to said housing on the opposite end of said wear plate, said closure plate having an aperture extending therethrough; and a compression member disposed between said wear plate and said closure plate, said compression member including a main body having an indicator pin formed integrally therewith, said indicator pin being defined by an annular recess extending partially through said main body, said indicator pin being attached to said main body by a relatively thin membrane-like web portion formed integrally with said main body and said indicator pin, said web portion being disposed adjacent to said wear plate, a lower end of said indicator pin extending through said aperture of said closure plate a predetermined distance to provide a visual indication from outside said joint of the degree of wear within said joint.