A rear spring will take a competent mechanic no longer than 30 minutes to change.
If it takes longer, they are either swinging the lead, or incompetent, the last pair I changed for a local member, on the drive with axle stands, took a leisurely 40 minutes, which included cleaning and treating the upper arm cup, and the cup on the bodywork.
The upper arm will not fail due to spring pressure, it is a matter of corrosion, and this can be clearly assessed once the spring is removed.......for example....
This is an upper rear arm, the pan with the upraised pip in the centre is where the lower part of the spring is fitted to, this arm even in the state of corroded failure, had not folded under spring pressure.
Now even the most lackadaisical mechanic could not fail to spot a defect of that magnitude and advise accordingly.
Brian
