98 convertible power steering problem...

[Shewter]

The other day I was turning left when halfway through the turn the power steering went out, no noise, no vibration, or any signal that something was wrong. Since the car has rack and pinion steering it was still driveable. I took it to the dealer because I didn't have time to diagnose the problem myself and I needed the car for the weekend. They said the power steering pump shaft was broken and that it would cost me $1,200 to fix. I said I would look into replacing it myself, which of course they didn't recommend since it was so labor intensive. So I paid the money for the diagnosis and was on my way. I took the car to a corvette club rally in Palm Springs where the car performed great except no power steering. That was last weekend. On Monday, on the way to work, I again was making a left turn when the power steering mysteriously came back and has been working perfect since.

My question is...has anyone ever seen an intermittent power steering failure? I was a mechanic for many years and have never seen a power steering pump that would work one minute and not the next. To me it sounds more like an electrical problem due to the fact these vettes have speed sensitive steering. I do have a code that comes up in the DIC that says the steering wheel position sensor is bad or at least out of its parameters, but isn't that for the Traction Control System? Anyway, I thought I would throw this one out there and see what anyone says. My next step will be to get the factory service manuals and diagnose this myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Kevin