am I able to replace the stock water temp gauge sensor with an aftermarket sensor and either put it back into the existing location or another location ?

 

Why not just replace it with a stock one, they are not THAT expensive.

 

I live in NZ and availablity is very limited, I would have to wait 4 weeks + ex japan or find a wrecked FD which is very very hard to find, just thouht that this would be a lot easier as i already have an aftermarket sensor handy

 

I doubt any aftermarket sensor would have the same output as the stock sensor for driving the stock gauge. If you are just planning on not using the stock gauge, you can put an aftermarket sensor in the stock sender's hole and run it to the new gauge.

Dale

 

ok, so hang on a minute, where is the stock water temp sensor? the one that has broken on me is the black one with the wire running to it on the FRONT of the filler neck housing ( or just below) after a bit of a searching i think i've found the water temp sensor is on the BACK of this housing, so I think its actually the COOLANT LEVEL SENSOR ive broken, am I correct and if so, can I just change this with an aftermarket LEVEL sensor?

 

also- dosn't the ECU need to get a water temp reading as well as me? wouldnt an after market sensor bypass the ECU? or does the ECU get its reading from the Water Thermosensor?

 

The level sensor is the one on the front of the pump (filler neck). There are three water thermosensors in all. One on the back of the pump, one under the UIM along the fuel rail, and one on the engine block (I believe) but it's this one that gives the temp readings if you have a PFC commander. You can still use an aftermarket sensor but most people put it on the filler next (by drilling a hole for the sensor). You could fabricate a unit to go inline of the upper radiator hose like GReddy makes. (Greddy ones ar to small for our hoses I believe).

 

If you can find a wrecked second gen you can use the sensor from it. It is the same minus the wire harness. If you need a new one, order one for a 2nd gen and save some money.