Shocks, Struts, Bellows.......suspension lingo?

[Petrucci914]

Hey,When it comes to suspension lingo and parts I'm rather clueless. The rubber bellows on the front two tires have shredded and fallen off so the .......shock........strut........is exposed? I was told if I bought new shocks (struts?) it would come with the bellows and with my car being at the current mileage it may just be better to buy new shocks. I always thought shocks were on the front and shocks were on the back......but then I see shock kits for the front and back.I'm damn confused!

[Raven]

New struts don't come with the bellows unless the OEM ones from a GM dealer do. It's kind of weird that the old ones fell apart. To me the front and back are struts because the shock is inside of the spring, aka strut.

[Petrucci914]

Damnit. I hate talking to mechanics. 98% of them know nothing.