This was thought to not be possible but some research (or good luck ! ) led us to Kiley-Clinton Engineering in central Birmingham where, the owner, Roger Clinton found some C-springs that he had had made in the 1990s when there were many more R8s racking up high mileages and failures were numerous. It was an alternative to buying a complete new steering gear from a Rover dealer.
It is possible that those C-springs that were going to fail, have already done so so neither we, nor Roger, are expecting a flood of gears but if you have a failed gear on a car or 'in stock' there is now a way to make it serviceable again.
The fitment of the spring would be done during a gear refurbishment (new seals, bearings, bellows) as it makes sense to do it all 'just-the-once'. A standard refurbishment costs £195 +vat, with the C-spring costing an additional £20 +vat.
The Club would like to thank Quentin Howell for the loan of his spare PAS gear.
Notes:
- Rover fitted this type of steering gear to many Rover 600s and 800s - all of those that don't have a Honda engine - so all owners of these cars can benefit
- Kiley-Clinton Engineering can refurbish most PAS and manual steering gears, including those from later 25s, 45s and Streetwise
