I found this post in the internet,the whole story at
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t353122-96_t100_draglink_warning.html


"This is a warning about the drag link on the 96' Toyota T100. The part is also called the steering lnk rod. Mine snapped apart while I was driving, and I lost all steering control to both front tires. There have been other instances of this part failing, mentioned on the internet. One T100 owner posted pictures of the broken part, and it broke in the same place as mine. I believe there is a manufacturing defect on this part, and that anyone with a vehicle equipped with the part should be warned of a possible emergency loss of steering. If you own a 96' T100, and want
more details, reply to this thread. Toyota Customer Assistance does not
admit there is a history of problems with this part, so they will not issue a recalll, which I asked for."

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

i think h2o and big t can tell us better

Yep, the center link can break. It seems to happen during low speed, sharp parking lot manuvers.
The replacement link is beefier. A little preventative maintenance would be a good thing.

Can I safely assume this is a 4wd issue? My T has rack & pinion up front.
Thanks.

Yep, I think it's a 4WD only issue.

Aghh mine is 4wd what a...!!

So will the toyota stealership cut me a deal or do I just swallow the whole thing.

More importantly, will they know what I'm talking about and have the right replacement part, or just give me one of the same I have on it now?

Spot

HERE is an old thread on the subject. Some of the information could help.
Don't bother looking for the pictures, I deleted them over a month ago.

Added it to the FAQ!

I was concerned about this issue but after running the Rubicon trail where I was turning the steering wheel as hard as possible while climbing over boulders I figure my steering link must be in pretty good shape.

It would be interesting to find out where in the production run the steering links started to fail, since I have truck number 073 for the 96 model year, maybe later runs had the faulty link. Just a thought.