Hello, I just found this forum. cool stuff. I bought a 97 ram 1500 about a year and a half ago. One of tail gate cables was broken when I bought the truck, I have since fixed that. There is also an area on the tailgate that is down to bare metal as the tailgate rubs against the bumper as it opens and then rests on it in the open position. I was hoping that changing the cables would fix the problem, but it didn't, it almost seems like the bumper is sitting to high up. so my question is: Can a guy with limited mechanical skills or tools lower the bumper about a 1/4"? I plan to get a new bumper eventually, but I am having some body work done in a month and I want to rectify this before I have it done. Thanks!

 

i had this same problem. one of my tailgate cables was the wrong one (too long), the bumper was all out of whack, and it was rubbing. start by replacing both cables. spray pb-blaster penetrating oil on all the bumper bolts. there are several. loosen up all the bolts (18mm) so you can easily move the bumper around. i leveled mine by putting a floor jack on each side and getting it level side to side and front to back, then tighten everything up. its easy to do and only takes an hour or two. you'll need a big breaker bar or pipe on socket to break the bolts loose.

the front is the same way.