front shock/spring removal?--one unit?

does the front shock and spring come out of the car as one unit? i know a spring compresser is needed to do an actual shock or sping change, but is it possible to pull the unit out together?

reason i ask...i have a set of 1le springs, plan to buy some bilsteins...
can i pull the old shock/spring unit out and just have a shop compress and put the new spring/shock together so that i can just bolt it in? since i don't need to reuse any old parts do i have to separate them? or is that required in order to remove them from the car?

thanks

They come out as one unit. You're supposed to need to disconnect the lower balljoints to pull the unit out but I managed to squeak by without touching them. I just removed the brake calipers and put them out of the way (lines still attached) and I also removed the sway bar up front. A little prying and they pop right out (removing the balljoint is definately easier though). Yes You can have a shop do it for you. If you choose to do it yourself (that's what I did) you need to borrow a spring compressor with safety pins (I got one from autozone). Unbolting the stock shock after it's compressed can be a PITA b/c they tend to rust frozen. The number one thing you need to do is make sure the spring and shock mounts are oriented in the same way they came off the car or you won't be able to bolt it back in.