Rod had drink about ten (4)
I believe the answer is:
axle
'rod' is the definition.
(axle is a kind of rod)
'drink about ten' is the wordplay.
'drink' becomes 'ale' (ale is a kind of drink).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'ten' becomes 'x' (roman numeral).
'ale' placed around 'x' is 'AXLE'.
'had' is the link.
(Other definitions for axle that I've seen before include "What supports rotor" , "Rod connecting wheels" , "wheel section" , "A wheel revolves around it" , "Rod bearing wheels" .)