These rod do wear in the clevis pin hole. This does cause excessive play in the clutch pedal. The fix, replace the rod.
If you are having trouble shifting into the next gear, one of the problems is that the t/o bearing is worn down. So an emergency fix is to add metal on the end of the push rod. Don't do it, replace with the correct length push rod. These rods do wear in the clevis pin hole. This does cause excessive play in the clutch pedal. The fix, replace the rod