What you did looks good! You could smooth that all the way up to the little end too. Big end down to the cap bolt holes.
You want to remove the flashing from the parting line. Filing the rough and then sanding. Drum sander etc. It's always better to have a fine finish than a rough as that's what starts a crack.
The new factory rod looks much beefier than the replacement. Note more contact area for side-thrust, the radii on the inside of the I-beam section blending into the big end is much bigger. Ditto for the small end. Bet that's where the old ones break.
Actual I-beam cross-section looks to be about the same(thickness of the flanges).
How much clearance did you end up?
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