[MBZ] W123 rear spring/trailing arm removal

[tom savage]

I need to replace a rear trailing arm on my '82 300D.  I've got a new 
one from OkiePartz ready to go in, but I'm curious about the removal of 
the old one.  The manual tells me I need to pull the entire rear axle 
assembly, but my own inspection says this is unnecessary, correct?  The 
other point that really has me wondering is rear spring removal.  I'm 
told that a spring compressor is not required for this.  Can I safely 
remove the spring after loosening the bolts at the pivot points on the 
trailing arm and slowly lowering the arm under a floor jack?  Again, it 
looks like it, but given the amount of energy stored in these things, I 
think I'm better off not finding out the hard way.

For those wondering why I would want to do such a thing, I had a rather 
nasty surprise on the way home from work the other day: 
http://thomas.savage.org/notgood.jpg

Thanks,
Tom