Method of assembly for a ball and socket joint

Method of assembly for a ball-and-socket joint, in particular for suspension or steering of an automobile vehicle comprising a housing in the general shape of a basin in which a blind bore receives components consisting of a bearing element of plastics material disposed in the said bore and bearing against the bottom of the latter, a pivot presenting a shank and a spherical head resiliently covered by the said bearing element, and a locking ring mounted in the said bore and applied at its internal face against the bearing element, characterised in that, the various components of the joint having been disposed in the housing, the assembly thus constituted is placed on a tool comprising stressing means acting on the external face of the ring to compress the bearing element and progressively load the joint until a predetermined value of the tilting torque of the pivot is obtained in relation to the housing, and once the said predetermined value has been obtained, the axial load exercised by the said stressing means is maintained and one then folds back towards the axis of the housing all or part of the extreme edge of the latter with the aid of means acting radially on the said edge so as to trap the ring in the bore without altering the predetermined value of the tilting torque.