I have a 98 Taurus SE wagon, 3.0 Vulcan, 86K miles, that has been doing something puzzling since I bought it a month ago. About every couple hundred miles or so, I lose the speedometer and the steering feels heavy. Sometimes it lasts a few seconds, sometimes for a mile or two and is alway restored on its own. The turn signals stopped working once also, but that has not happened again. Any ideas? I've been wondering about a loose connection somewhere but everything looks and feels tight and free of corrosion. The car was in super shape when purchased and seemed to have recieved excellent care since new.

 

Does the radio,other accessoriescancel out as well with the no assist steering??

Common for the trans range sensor to fail causing intermittent loss of power assist, as well as radio function ect.. Odd enough, but usually the cause..

 

I agree with Hayapower. We have run into a lot of these sensors failing and give the symptom you describe.