Where to find mystery ball and socket joint?

What I'm looking for is a ball and socket joint with a metal socket. Like the older style lift strut sockets, the metal ones with the little pin/clips that hold them on. OK, so I found a pic of exactly what I'm looking for, put the site it's from is in Europe.

Any ideas?

google the gas lift cylinders, they sell 'em, even SS, I bought 'em up to prolly 5/16" thread

lawn tractors use something similar in larger sizes for steering rod ends

http://www.midwestcontrol.com/part_family.php?id=1

mcmaster.com has them too

I have to rely on a similar setup in an industrial application. After many failures I now run a hardened bolt thru a heim joint, more robust and allows a visual inspection. I hate those things.

Are you specifically looking for that quick release? If not, I kinda agree with TRoglodyte about their failure rate when compared to a through bolt and heim ball.

It doesn't really have to be that exact style, but I'm trying to find a steel socket that will fit an existing ball. Even if that style isn't the most robust, it's got to better than the crap plastic it will be replacing. I've used heim joints for this exact application, and while they work well there's a lot of fab work involved.

Also, which are stronger, the internal clip or the external clip?

44Dwarf wrote: mcmaster.com has them too

Are you sure? I searched their site up and down and couldn't find them.

You can buy that part from Napa. Have the counter guys look up the word "throttle". These ball and socket linkages were on Mercedes 300D

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?A=ATM0009918922_0257672627&An=0&Ar=AND%28P_RecType%3aA%29 Hotlinked for your reference

Edit: Taking a second look at this I'm not sure this will work for your purposes. The socket part does not have a retaining metal clip...

old peoples hips?

I really have got nothing constructive to add...sorry

Quasimo1 wrote: You can buy that part from Napa. Have the counter guys look up the word "throttle". These ball and socket linkages were on Mercedes 300D http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?A=ATM0009918922_0257672627&An=0&Ar=AND%28P_RecType%3aA%29 Hotlinked for your reference Edit: Taking a second look at this I'm not sure this will work for your purposes. The socket part does not have a retaining metal clip...

The link doesn't work. This one? That appears to be the internal clip style, and that would work fine if it's the right size. Hmmm... I'll have to look into this.

mcmaster-carr has a good selection

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: mcmaster-carr has a good selection

Someone else mentioned that above, but I'll be damned if I can find them in the catalog.

16vCorey wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: mcmaster-carr has a good selection

Someone else mentioned that above, but I'll be damned if I can find them in the catalog.

Edit because I posted the wrong link http://www.mcmaster.com/#ball-joint-rod-ends/=evknem

search rod ends then Ball Joint Linkages Type