conventional ball and socket arrangements allow a high degree of angular lost motion to occur at the joint which causes a drop in accuracy in that correlation fig1 and 13 illustrate a first embodiment of a connector assembly 130 which includes socket 132 and ball stud 134 this design approach constrains rotation about the z axis illustrated in fig1 through use of anti rotation clip 136 installed within socket 132 anti rotation clip 136 includes a pair of projecting tabs 138 which engage with ball stud collar 140 the engagement between tabs 138 and collar 140 defines a limited degree of angular rotation about the z axis which is the axis about which the relative rotation between the internally and externally threaded components occurs connector assembly 130 however continues to provide the desired degree of angular motion desired to accommodate the change in orientation of the system components as the lift gate 12 is moved between its opened and closed positions fig1 illustrates a second embodiment of a connector assembly 144 in this embodiment socket 146 integrally defines projecting walls 148 which engage with ball stud collar 140 in a manner similar to that described in connection with connector assembly 130 this embodiment also constrains lost motion about the z axis in the case of both connector assemblies 130 and 144 allowed relative rotation about the orthogonal x and y axes is greater than that allowed about the z axis throughout this specification gas spring type devices are described as providing a force applying mechanism for counterbalancing the weight of the vehicle lift gate however it is within the scope of this invention to implement other types of force applied or damping mechanisms for.