windhund116

Most excellent suggestion! Thanks!

S2k Dude

Thanks for posting the cleaning procedure Jdrum1. I would have tried that prior to ordering the replacement part, however, since I had it, today I installed it.


Here are my lessons learned:

1. The AP2 part (53101-S2A-A03) absolutely works in the AP1 models. The two parts look identical.
2. I ordered the 43mm Rack Guide Adjustment Wrench but I didn't need it. Didn't need to adjust the Guide Rack so I didn't need the wrench. Actually, I'm not even sure why anyone would need to adjust the Guide Rack when replacing the EPS TS.
3. I spent a total of four hours, I don't move quickly, but if I had to do it again I'd probably set aside 2 hours.
4. Best to remove both bolts in the steering coupler and slide everything upward. I had just removed the two mounting bolts on the TS and the lower bolt on the steering coupler thinking that's all I needed to loosen, nope, after fighting with removing the TS, I loosened the other bolt on the steering coupler, then things slid much easier and I was able to remove the TS. The steering coupler disconnected from the TS spine shaft, then I removed the TS. So to look at it another way, you really don't need to remove the two TS mounting bolts until you have the steering coupler disconnected from the splined end of the TS shaft.
5. Bumping the tire left/right helps shake things in the rack and allows easier removal/installation of the TS.
6. Getting the splines realigned so the steering wheel is straight took three tries (road test in between each try).
7. Doing the Torque Sensor Neutral Position procedure was a bit of a pain in the ass. It's really easy to screw up, took me and a friend 6 tries before we got it.
8. Also, after doing the procedure and you turn the key back to the ON position, the EPS light stays on until you start the car, then it goes out if you did everything right.
9. We used two paperclips and two alligator clips to short OBDII pins 4 and 9. Make note, double check your connector and make sure you are shorting the correct two pins together. My eyesight isn't what it was when I was 25, it's easy to misread the pin out. I pulled up the OBDII pin out diagram on another thread on S2ki (I think Billman posted it) and made sure I got the right pins.
10. Not a terribly difficult job overall, but not the simplest either.

kenc13

Is the AP2 TS still working in your '02 AP1? Just thought I'd check since you are the only one I know of who has made this change.

S2k Dude

Yes, it's only been a few weeks but it seems to work the same as my original AP1 part. Also, I had spoken to the Service Manager at my local Honda Dealer, and after a few weeks of run around, they finally confirmed with Honda Corporate that the AP2 part will work. So at this point, there should be no question the AP2 part is the replacement for the AP1.

solitarycheese

I had the torque sensor replaced in my AP1 with an AP2, new part works great. However, the steering wheel is off center slightly (have to hold the wheel between 11 and 12 o'cock to go straight). They've tweaked the alignment twice and it still isn't right, so I'll try to show them this thread about aligning the splines properly.

S2k Dude

When I replaced the TS, it took me 3 tries to align the spline shaft so that the steering wheel was straight again. It's not something you really want to correct with alignment, you want to correctly re-align the steering shaft with the TS. I believe there is a yellow dot on the TS spline shaft but it's difficult to see. I ended up marking the shaft, loosening the collar, turning the steering shaft 1 spline tooth and then tightening things back up and going for a test drive. If I didn't move it enough or realigned the shaft in the wrong direction (making it worse) I needed to repeat to make it correct.

Having done the repair myself, I can see how it would be easy to think you just do a wheel alignment but that's not what you need to do, you need to instead align the steering shaft to the TS.

Hope my reply helps give you some insight and your repair shop corrects the problem for you.

tehlonz

Finally ! Actual experience!

S2k Dude

It's now been a few months, and I can positively say the AP2 TS is a direct replacement for the AP1. The steering problems that were present have been resolved and the smooth steering feel restored to the same as it was when the car was new.

I took apart my old torque sensor and did a bit of cleaning and lubricating. Hard to say if my old TS would work okay or not. Maybe I'll just sell it cheap on eBay, maybe someone would want to try performing more cleaning/restoration and put it to use.

tehlonz

Need to get a new one , and old one on a test bench . That way we could test vs. baseline before tossing them back in ,

F1TwoThousand

I had to replace mine on an ap2. I believe honda has remade a batch of these because i was emailed from a dealer saying that they were discontinued but if i wanted to wait a few months they were being made... I waited and sure enough i recieved a torque sensor straight from honda. definitely fixed my problem of shuttering and steering wheel ghosts.