Hondata

To alleviate the worry of lifting the tracks on the ECU when removing the socket [for those of us who are S200 users], is it possible to simply put the male pins into the pre-existing socket?

not really. depends on what socket you have in there. if it is a machined socket (round w/round insert), chances are, it will not work. if it is not machined (square socket) the pins would possibly fit, but i would not recommend it b/c it is possible if the unit is not secured, it could possibly get loose and can at times cause damage to the unit and/or ecu

if you want to remove the socket, what you can try is cut the plastic around each pin to remove it one at a time or seperate the two rows and remove one row at a time. also, using a solder sucker you can get pretty far with removing it, but you chance it more like that.