you have to drop it down. never get enough access with it left in place.
youd burn your car out before the bushes release their grip.
in essence the job is
2 trailing arm bolts (just put a ratchet on, lie at the back and kick it, comes off no problem
pivot arm bolt (big breaker bar)
four strut top bolts
8 10mm handbrake cable / abs retaining bolts
2 retaining clips for brakes.
it took us just over 2 hours per car, bar problems we had with ricks...