The life of the OE Freightliner bell crank is largely determined by the "care and feeding" it has received.
It has BUSHINGS, not bearings, so is sensitive to having clean grease in it all the time.
Easy to determine if it is worn. With engine off, have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth through left/right arcs. Watch the drag link coming from steering box to bell crank, and then the link from bell crank to the left steering knuckle. Any up/down or angular play in the bell crank means you need to do something.
Indeed, the Henderson bell crank with BALL BEARINGS is a big improvement over the OE design.
And, while under there, check the sway bar END LINK BUSHINGS for wear-- there are 8 of them and a high failure rate item. Easy to replace-- go with polyurethane replacements.
