Ted,
The length of the rod should be whatever is required to provide the actuation that you require and possibly a PO shortened it in the belief he did not need the insulator or maybe the bellcrank has been swapped from a slightly different style. No matter the rod is ¼” diameter and you can gain length and adjustability by cutting it, running a die on it, and adding a coupling nut like
this. If the ends are worn you can chop them off, run a die over the end and use a couple of
these which is my personal preference. Good luck.
