What is the purpose of the small rubber pad and heat shrink tubing?
The pad and heat shrink tubing are a part of the Ford and Dodge kits only. They are needed to redirect the cable assembly to fold back into the tailgate stow area alongside the EZDown damper. The ideal assembly point for the rubber pad is about 1/8″ above the bottom of the damper, once it is installed. Sometimes, bending a “dog leg” into that cable creates a “memory” point for the cable so that it automatically will “behave” and close up inside the stow area when the tailgate is raised into the closed and latched position.
