I got about an inch on my TJ w/ a 2.5L when i put them on but my coils were sagging a bit.
Lengths were identical, spring rate is different. I have a pic somewhere I will post comparing the two side by side.
x2 i was surprised when i pulled the ones off of my TJ and they looked nearly identical in size.
But to answer your question, no they are not too hard to pull off in my personal opinion. If you have not messed with that kind of stuff you may think its a pain but I think they are easy. I should have a pic of the coils next to each other around somewhere i'll see if i can find it.