Honda BF20 Flame Trap

I have a 2005 Honda BF20D and I recently removed the engine cover to change the oil & filters and I noticed that my trap flame had fallen out and was lying on the bottom of the engine compartment. How did this happen, how can I reinstall, and how can I prevent this from happening?

Hi mksor,
Welcome to the forum.

These "flame traps" tend to fall out of their mount because of vibration. They get loose and then "walk" around and eat at the little plastic ears that hold them in.

My solution on a fleet of 40 small Hondas is to use a #4 wood screw. I put it in to the plastic at the bottom of the trap and screw it in at a 45 degree down angle. This allows the countersunk head of the screw to contact the trap and "wedge" it in place. In five years I have not had one come loose after this treatment.

If you don't want to risk a screw in there, the entire housing is available from boats.net for around $25. It is item #2 on the parts page link below. This "muffler plate" is also the source of aggravation when you try and remove the bolts that hold the cover on. They can seize in the bronze nuts and cause the nuts to rotate and break their moorings in the plastic. Not the best in Honda engineering for sure. Be sure to use anti seize when re-assembling.

HTHY
jimmyd

http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard Engine/2005/BF20D5 SRA /MUFFLER COVER/parts.html

Thank you for this advice. I am going to try this over the weekend. Thanks again.

I was searching for information on how I could have found a flame trap on the ground when all I had done was remove the top right cover to access the oil filter on my BFP20. Thank you mksor for asking the question and thank you jimmyD for your advice. I'm new to the forum and found this 8 year-old thread to be precisely what I needed. THANKS!

Kool!
Yes, Honda did a poor job of "retaining" those screens since we all seem to find them everywhere except where they are supposed to be.