Front shock mount
 

I have a 83 380sl with a front shock that is banging around at the upper mount area. Is the mount that holds it to the upper frame member part of the shock or is there some other mounting hardware that has broken and needs to be replaced. If I replace the shock will it come with the new hardware I need to mount it secure. In looking at diagrams and the other shock it looks like all I need is a new shock. Any help will be appreciated.

The shock just sticks up through a hole. Rather the rod portion of the shock sticks up through. There should be a rubber "donut" with a large metal washer and a nut on top. This would be seen from the engine compartment. If it's your passenger side shock that you are talking about, the top nut is under the overflow tank. Looking at the shock, there should be a rubber sleeve covering the upper portion of the shock. To get an idea of what parts are involved, go to Fastlane and look at the pictures of the Bilstein shocks. The rod that goes up and down has a small, fixed in place washer that a larger washer, then a rubber donut, rest on. The rubber sleeve covers this. If you shock is flopping around, either your top mount nut is loose or maybe this small washer broke and the larger washer fell down. Feel up towards the top and "see" where the large washer is. It should be about 1/2-3/4 of an inch from the top.

shock mount
 

Thanks for the input. Thats exactly what happened. Ihave two new shocks to replace the originals . chris