I had no idea that washing machines even had shock absorbers, but when our 14 yr. old Kenmore front loader's drum started dancing and banging when trying to spin even the lightest loads, it was obvious something wasn't right. A quick peek at the inner workings revealed one shock absorber which offered no dampening and another that was literally broken.
I quickly found the replacement parts at SearsPartsDirect.com, was pleased with the reasonable price, placed my order and had my shock absorbers in hand four days later.
Included instructions were very useful, making installation quite straight-forward for this owner of average mechanical ability. The parts are in, the Kenmore is ready for another fourteen years of service, and I can only guess how much money I saved over having a repairman come to my home and repairing my machine.