Blue, had the same issue, as well as the rod with the clevis being bent right out of the box. When I rolled it, it would wobble. Ended up ditching the OEM push pull Rod linkage (which I hated to do since it was so darn perfect feeling) and going with a cable. I did not throw any of my OEM stuff away though, as someday I will pick up another clevis rod and try the pushrods. I am still not thrilled about how the LOKAR cable feels. To me nothing is as precise as those rods that Datsun chose. When they are fresh and functioning perfectly, they are so sweet and positive feeling to the feet. Let me know how your shortened rod turns out as I always wanted to try that. I think it is the proper way to do things. Also let us know if your rod ends that screw into your manifold line up perfectly, mine are not, and if I use all three, I get binding in the rod and it is very hard to turn. Caused the throttle to not return to closed at times. I solved this by only using two rod ends, and using a hardended steel precision 5/16" driveshaft (mcmastercarr). Deflections are minimal and almost non existent.