No bother

, but as as others have said ( above ) ... IF it has been stood for a while, it's entirely possible that the drilling the spring sits in is full of cr@p

, or as also mentioned above corrosion ! ( whatever next - land rovers which corrode

- say it ain't so

) - and just needs a clean ..... ( as you said - it'll be a dirty job ! )
Worth measuring the length of the spring and comparing it to the spec - any shorter and it needs to go in the bin !
Doubt a new spring is daft money in any event...