I just replaced all 4 shocks on my 1977 300D, Bilstein HD. All 4 were basically unplug the old, plug in the new. (With some WD40 and some knuckle breaking)

My front shocks came with the plastic shroud and "bumpers" as well as new nuts and grommets. The whole deal. Same with the rears, although they had gone through a subtle redesign that made them look slightly different that the 25 year old shocks I took off. It was then that I called Bilstein and spoke to one of their techs who explained the redesign, confirmed that I had the correct shocks and said go forth and do well....he was right.

I have a "install sheet" that covers a number of Bilstein shocks. If you want to send me a private message I'll be glad to fax it over so you can see what you were supposed to be getting.

Bottom line, EVERYTHING I needed to replace the shocks was supplied by Bilstein. No MB parts carried over from the old shocks to the new. Others may had had a different experience, but from my view, don't get rid of the old shocks, but keep them just in case you decide to carry out the advice I gave you on my previous post.

JCD