What I see is a shock with the bottom part covered in thick grime (my asumption is it is oil that cuased the grime) but the top is not. If it were due to just moisture, the top would be all nasty too. But, since the top is not, and only the bottom, I'm thinking maybe the seal blew, spluging oil down the shock, causing the nasty grime on the lower portion only.

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1983 300SD