Aftermarket water temp install ?s

[ScottyDsntKno]

Did some searching, once again came up blank. Found lots of questions about temp gauges themselves but nothing on the install. I know the stock sender is near the tstat housing but not exactly where although I can probably find it. The question I have is how accurate is it and can you bug an autometer gauge off it? I know probably not but it'd make it a lot easier to install an aftermarket guage by just splicing.

If not then I'm going to use a mechanical autometer phantom gauge and have the filler neck drilled/tapped for the stock sender so can plug it in there and not have a dead gauge in the stock cluster. This is what I did with my Cobra and it worked like a champ although with those you can get filler necks already tapped for the sensor. I'll post a how to if I have to do that but like I said, much easier to bug an electric gauge right into the stock wire if possible.

 

[yamahaSHO]

The stock gauge sensor is to the left of the Tstat when looking at the motor from the drivers side. You would need to use the AutoMeter sensor. I put the AM sensor in the stock location for a better reading and then moved the stock sensor to the upper radiator hose.

 

[AREA 91]

I used a "T" so I could keep the stock guage as well.
I also did the same for the oil pressure.

 

[gimpysho]

The T fitting like Area91 describes is the way we've been doing it successfull since the 60's

 

[SHO92]

I also have the autometer sensor installed with a T. If you don't want to go through the extra work of running a T along with the stock sensor, why go through all the extra work of installing the manual gauge? The T and adapter is about $3 and can be found at a hardware store.

 

[ScottyDsntKno]

You can get a T for a mechanical gauge probe or no? I prefer all my gauges to be mechanical if possible especially water and oil since those are the two REALLY critical readings. Mechanical gauges always work regardless if you have the car on or not which is really nice for the water gauge. The mechanical probe is pretty huge and you have to use a hole saw in the firewall to get it through. I think I'm going to go with the original plan of mechanical probe in the stock location and the stocker in a drilled/tapped filler neck since I doubt the mechanical probe would fit in a T.

 

[NEp8ntballer]

You can get a T for a mechanical gauge probe or no? I prefer all my gauges to be mechanical if possible especially water and oil since those are the two REALLY critical readings. Mechanical gauges always work regardless if you have the car on or not which is really nice for the water gauge. The mechanical probe is pretty huge and you have to use a hole saw in the firewall to get it through. I think I'm going to go with the original plan of mechanical probe in the stock location and the stocker in a drilled/tapped filler neck since I doubt the mechanical probe would fit in a T.

the thing that matters is the fitting. the probe still has to screw into something and it depends upon what that something is threaded as. Based upon that you will then have to find a T for the original threads to mate it up to the block at the stock location and the OEM coolant temp sensor. you will need an adapter to convert the aftermarket sensor to the threading of the OEM sensor

 

[ScottyDsntKno]

the thing that matters is the fitting. the probe still has to screw into something and it depends upon what that something is threaded as. Based upon that you will then have to find a T for the original threads to mate it up to the block at the stock location and the OEM coolant temp sensor. you will need an adapter to convert the aftermarket sensor to the threading of the OEM sensor

I know how to install them, I did all the aftermarket gauges on my Cobra, I'm talking about how physically big the mechanical probe is vs an electronic one and whether it would fit into a T fitting or not.

Meh, I didn't get the blue MTX I thought I was getting anyway but the Contour SVT I got probably has the same issue. They told me to T it as well. I'm thinking do what I did with my Cobra which is install the aftermarket sender in the stock port and have a bung installed in the water neck for the stock sensor. You won't get nearly as accurate temperature readings from a T as you will with the sensor deep down in a direct flow of hot coolant.