you can simply replace the sensor itself with a 3300 ohm thermistor. What I did was cut the sensor wire as close to the end (metal sheath) as possible. Drill out the epoxy and old sensor bits from the metal sheath. Solder the new 3.3k ohm thermistor (not resistor) to the two exposed wires. Wrap one or both of the exposed leads/wires in black electrical tape. Fill the metal sheath with epoxy and shove the new thermistor into the sheath. Then let the epoxy dry a bit and screw it back into the mounting bracket on the car.

Cost: ~$10 (the termistor is a $1 item plus shipping from most online electronics retailers such as digikey.com or mouser.com)

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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE