<< I'd hafta say unless it was in the fire for more than 1/2 hr & the temp was
in the annealing range for steel (1200 deg +/- 100 maybe), it'd still be ok
to use. A machine shop could tell you what the Rockwell or Brinell scale
hardness is & maybe what the alloy is. These two pieces of info should be
able to tell whether or not it's still within acceptable parameters for
towing safely...
My $.02k)...
Bob Smith (Daksy2K on AIM) >>
The paint on the bed of the truck itself was still somewhat intact. The
hitch only got warm enough to cause the paint to bubble and bake off. The
hitch is not warped and the frame of the truck was not warped either. The
fire on the burned dakota did not last long. The fire was put out within 10
minutes of starting. The main reason the hitch got scorched was because the
long grass that was under the truck also caught on fire. The interior of the
truck was still in decent but smokey state. You could still read the gauges
in it and the rest of the seats, etc.. were only covered in a layer of suiet
b/c the carpet started to smolder. The junk yard pulled the engine and trans
from the truck along with the driveshaft and rear diff. If I could use the
hitch I would not be afraid to bolt it up and start towing with it. But that
is me.
The other Will
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