Water Temp Sender and Gauge Conversion

[Mpeaden]

Hello All!! new to the forum
Recently purchased a '79 CJ5 with an '82 Chevy C10 350 block

I'm wanting to keep the original speedo cluster which contains the water temp gauge inside.

I've found that the water temp sensor for the 350 is quite a bit larger and the ohms are waaaaay off from the stock CJ gauge. So, I purchased the water temp sender that fits the original CJ 5.0 thinking I could add some adapter to fit the chevy manifold. (No luck here)

Question:
How can I best mod this to use the CJ manifold sensor with the chevy block?
It doesn't look like I'll be able to add some adapter to fit the chevy because the CJ sensor is not as long, thus not penetrating the water flow.

Would it be acceptable to somehow splice the CJ temp sensor through a radiator hose via some copper T fitting of some sort?

Thanks,

 

[Torxhead]

For a suggestion, you could remove the coolant temp gauge from the cluster and install a mechanical aftermarket gauge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_lf7_Yzvdg

 

[Mpeaden]

Thanks for the reply, but as I mentioned, wanting to keep the original cluster gauge. I actually have an aftermarket temp gauge that I'm not using.

Anyone out there using the original cluster on a 350 swap?

 

[Peanut Butter]

I know this may sound like a dumb question, but have you taken the original sensor to Home Depot? They have fittings for almost every size out there. I would think it would be possible to find the correct adapters. I went there and found the plugs I needed for all of the emission control parts to include the ones in the block.

 

[DaveMueller]

The sensor won't give a true temp reading unless it's in the flow. The best place is near the thermostat, at the outlet of the block. See if you can find an alternate thermostat housing that has a fitting for a sensor. The 4.0L Jeep engine is that way, and the housing fits the 258 stock head.

Another option is to look for a spot where an emissions sensor used to be. The 258 block has two plugs on the drivers side for CTO vacuum switches. One of mine was unused so I left the stock sensor in place (it isn't working properly), and put in a cheap aftermarket gauge using the CTO plug.

Dave