The front suspension housings minus their filler tubes. Prior to removing the tubes a quantity of oil was removed with a large syringe to avoid unnecessary oil spills.
Draining these reservoirs is extremely easy - even with everything in place. Beneath each unit there is an access hole on the underside of the cross member. The holes are large enough to allow the use of a socket to remove the drain plugs.
This is the sludge left after the oil had been poured away! Some lumps were large enough to partially block the holes. As can be seen from the colour, the contents were not of the best quality. By its smell it would appear that they were filled, at least in part, with gear oil rather than SAE20 as originally specified. Looking in through the filler holes it was evident that the internal mechanisms were covered in a dirty slime. The units were then thoroughly flushed with engine flushing oil until it ran out without discolouration. The internals are still unclean so regular oil changes will be the order of the day for the foreseeable future.
I would suggest that all owners check the damper contents in case their cars are suffering in the same way.