Sintered metal is compressed powder. No good for this application. If the rod is one piece and needs to be bushed, SAE 660 Bearing Bronze (Roto Bronze) is what you want to use and is a high leaded tin bronze and is considered the workhorse of the bearing bronze alloys. It’s the stuff I use when replacing worn pin bushings in connecting rods.
If your rod is two piece, an automotive machine shop can resize it to your specs if you don’t want to attempt it yourself.
