I'm not sure that the potentiometer is the rod. There are two parts in what you're describing. The inner part of the rod is a square, flexible metal. It's more of a cable, but it spins and drives the mechanism that moves the seat back and forth, up and down, etc. I bet that's still in good shape. Surrounding that is plastic that deteriorates. I pulled mine out and replaced the deteriorated pieces with a Bic pen. It turned out to be the proper inner and outer diameter to do the repair work. I think I had to butt two pens together and clipped them together with the clippy/holdy thing that holds that shield in place. Once I got the Bic pen in place and inserted the cable/drive piece through it and got it all connected, it worked fine. I think it's a little louder than the original. It may have more pace to move around. But it works for me.
