Final Response and since they’ve seen the video I have to believe they wouldn’t let me drive around if it was a legitimate problem. Like the company or not they know more than I do and they answer the AEV question as well;
“I assure you that your concerns are understood but not warranted. We manufacture over 1.5 million linkages for Ford, GM and FCA every year and we have been a tier one steering supplier to them for over 85 years. If there is one thing we know, it is steering joints… and customer service!
Here are a couple key things that I would like to point out.
- The torque of the nut on the stud has no affect on the movement inside of the socket. If the axis of the stud was moving that would cause concerns.
- The joint is a steel on steel ball-stud and bearing design. Without lash in that joint, the ball stud would bind under articulation or with any other impact to the steering system.
I assure you, that joint is within spec. I would be happy to swap out the end, but I am confident you would be looking at the same thing in the end because it is function the way it was intended.
Also, we manufacture and supply AEV with all of their top mount draglinks. The AEV draglink is a different socket design. It is what we call a dual seat socket. There is no reverse pin on the back side of the ball-stud and because of that you will not hear any noise. It also has a different preload on that joint. Without the reverse pin in that socket it allows the linkage to flop or roll.”