vibration damper thoughts

[SquareOne]

The damper arrived last night. Opened up this am to find this a fairly roughly handled ‘new’ part. Looks like it’s been hanging around for the last 5 years at someone’s shop... Not so much worried about the surface rust as I am some of the damage that’s on it from transport through the years. Has some scratches (that could be sanded out) and a couple places where it has definately contacted cement ( maybe when standing it up to get ready to place it on a shelf). I’m sure it will still function as it should. However, I would def be rejecting this if it were placed on front of me at my local Cummins store.

- If I'm understanding correctly, the fluid inside the damper hardens, therefore it becomes ineffective. Cummins maintenance calls for a 500k replacement, but my question is does the fluid harden because of use or does it have a shelf life? This part I just received for example appears to have been on the shelf for nearly 5yrs according to the stock tag. Would that shorten it's effective lifespan even though it hasn't been installed?

Here are some pics. Any thoughts? Already contacted FinditParts and sent them an email with the condition.