John Deere L130 Problem

[angleiron]

Since it it is spring, it was time to fire up the JD. Last fall I changed everything that I could as far as filters, and when I put the tractor away it was running good. Last fall I was having a running issue where the choke needed to be about 1/2 way to keep things running, but after I changed everything it ran fine. It was put away with fresh gas, and gas stabilizer and the engine was run for about 5 minutes to make sure that the treated gas was in the carbs (just like I have done in the past 5 years).

Yesterday it would not run with the choke in one fixed position...I had to move it from full choke for awhile to no choke, and all points in between. It would run for a few minutes in one position, start to stumble, and if I moved the choke lever to a different position it would run fine for another few minutes and then start with the problem all over again.

It will not run with the choke off though if that is any help. Any recommendations on what it could be?

Thanks

 

[Markcuda]

It sure sounds like a carburetor issue.
Start there, are you mechanically inclined?

 

[angleiron]

It sure sounds like a carburetor issue.
Start there, are you mechanically inclined?

Yes, mechanically inclined. I read though that the carb settings are fixed from the factory and cannot be adjusted?

 

[Markcuda]

If it was me, I would take off the carb and clean it thoroughly.
Pay particular attention to all the small holes and crevasses.
The carb setting are probably non adjustable.

 

[mostly_gas]

If you are moving the choke continually I would look at the float and float valve for free movement, and check for a fuel pump. If you have have one they are typically vacuum driven so check the hoses and for dirt over the vacuum port.

 

[manganos]

As others have noted, "Carb issue". What I would do first is put in some SeaFoam and see if it helps. I know people think it is mystery oil but it has worked for a bunch of people. If that does not work take the carb off and clean it really good. I use a gallon can of carb cleaner to soak the metal parts in. Be sure not to leave the plastic parts on because they will not be there when you pull the carb out of the cleaner I would go over it with compressed air, put everything back together and you should be good to go.

 

[jinman]

My LA145 did something similar and was backfiring. I kept modulating the choke lever and fuel lever and finally the engine smoothed out. I have restarted several times since with no problem. I'm thinking a bit of water in the fuel or maybe even trash was the problem. At any rate, it no longer has a problem and you can't fix something that ain't broke.:thumbsup:

 

[scott_vt]

It will not run with the choke off though if that is any help. Any recommendations on what it could be?

Thanks

Good Evenin angleiron,
My C125 Wheel Horse did something similar last year...

My recomendation would be to remove the carb, soak it over nite in one of those carb cleaner solutions that you can get from NAPA, and then using compressed air blow all the openings until clean...

Hopefully that will do the trick !

Good Luck !

 

[angleiron]

Well, I think I took care of the problem (at least in ran for awhile last night after working on it). :thumbsup:

Taking the carb off was a pain in the butt. John Deere has a brace bolted onto the tractor right in front of the carb, and from what I could see the ONLY way to take that brace off would have been to lift the engine vertically because the bolts that held th brace in place were too long to be removed with the engine as it sat (bolts were under the engine and they were hitting the frame). This looked like a deliberate design to intimidate most people to take it in for the work to be done, and that would have cost some bucks as the engine has to be dropped in with this brace already attached as there was NO WAY it was coming off with the engine in the tractor!

Screw that...so I just used some muscle and pulled/bent the brace out to get the clearance I needed to remove the carb. Gas was getting to the carb, so the fuel pump was fine. When I took the bowl off I found some junk in the bowl, and a few places throughout the carb that was crystal like. Then I noticed something that was probably the reason for the junk.

There is an o-ring type gasket used between the bowl and the carb, and there was the same junk on the outside portion of the gasket/bowl area where gas could not get to it. So I removed the o-ring gasket as there was some type of a sealant that was used I guess to maybe initially hold the o-ring gasket in place...and it looked like too much was used which then contaminated the bowl.

On this engine there was an electrical actuator at the bottom of the bowl with a needle valve that was spring loaded, and that had this junk on it. So I unscrewed that and cleaned those components. I cleaned the carb out with carb cleaner, and put everything back together. After a few cranks (to get fuel back into the carb) it fired right up and ran super smooth. Before when I would shut the engine off it would always backfire, and it has done that since day one...but since cleaning that goo away it did not backfire once last night.

 

[scott_vt]

On this engine there was an electrical actuator at the bottom of the bowl with a needle valve that was spring loaded, and that had this junk on it. So I unscrewed that and cleaned those components. I cleaned the carb out with carb cleaner, and put everything back together. After a few cranks (to get fuel back into the carb) it fired right up and ran super smooth. Before when I would shut the engine off it would always backfire, and it has done that since day one...but since cleaning that goo away it did not backfire once last night.

Good Afternoon Angleiron,
Glad to hear that it worked out for the best... it sounded like that was probablly the problem...

Good for another 10 years !