We only have about 30 hours on this 1.5 year old garden tractor, as it only really needs to be used about once a year when the wild grasses are very tall and they're getting quite brown and becoming a fire hazard. Thus, it had been sitting unused for a few months when I tried to start it to move it under cover for the winter rains a few weeks ago. There wasn't much fuel in the tank, but what was there had come from a gas can that had fuel stabilizer added to it right after getting home from the gas station (of course, that was back in the late spring).

Now the engine won't stay running, assuming we can get it started (needs jump starting), and it runs unevenly. It only starts and runs at all if the choke is closed. When the throttle is closed as far as it will go, the engine tends to run longer than when the throttle is all the way open. It's as if the engine runs until it hits an air bubble in the fuel line, which takes longer to happen the slower it uses fuel. We noticed that the fuel filter only shows about the bottom 1/5th or so filled with fuel, whereas we expected it would be at least half full.

A friend who is a great auto mechanic tried his hand and had similar results, after almost completely filling the gas tank and even trying putting some of the gas into the carburetor to use as starter fluid (we didn't have any starter fluid on hand, and the nearest auto parts store is a 15 minute drive away, and we were basically doing diagnostics in a hurry rather than working on this tractor as our main project).

It sort of seems like there's air in the fuel lines, but after having had the engine run (still unevenly) for as long as 25 to 30 minutes, it seems unlikely there'd still be air in the lines. Our friend suggested trying a water remover fuel additive; any thoughts on that or anything else we should pick up to try while at the store?

It could have gotten water in the gas...
Does it have a fuel bowl? Try and drain this and use water remover... (actually isopropyl alcohol at 91% alcohol will do the same)
Did it get rained on?

I have a John Deere L130. For the last year I have replaced many parts trying to solve this problem, before discovering the cause.

There is a design flaw in the tank design. If you look at where the fuel line enters the top of the tank and then look inside the tank, you will see a black hose. That hose screws into the area of the fuel tank where the fuel line attaches. When new, it is glued in. It works loose over time. As it works loose, it touches the bottom of the fuel tank. When it does this, suction pulls it to the tank and prevents fuel from entering the fuel line. The engine shuts off.

This black tube came unscrewed and fell into my tank. Now I will have to replace the tank or find a fix. My L130 is just taking space in my garage at present.

If you catch the problem before the tube fully unscrews, you might be able to find a pair of angled pliers that will allow you to screw it back in tight.

Does anyone have a better suggestion?

Fortunately, my problem wasn't as hard to solve. There was a blockage in the fuel line, close enough to the fuel tank that blowing from the end of the fuel line where it attaches to the bottom of the fuel filter was eventually sufficient to dislodge whatever it was (probably "varnish" from old fuel). We used both fuel stabilizer and Gumout for the weeks we retained the mower until we sold it (obviously, for that much stuff to accumulate for it to complete block the fuel line, we had not been using it enough; our repair attempts were thus aimed at getting it in running order to sell it), and we had no problems during those weeks. Of course, we were also starting and running the engine and even the mower deck for about 10 minutes roughly once a week until it was sold.

Not saying this will fix yours BUT yesterday I bought an L110 that had been sitting for over a year. Before trying to crank it I drained the old gas then saw water in the tank bottom. I shoved a shop rag in and with a long screwdriver moved it around collecting the h2o. Then I pulled the carb, sprayed it with cleaner, and blew it out. It started/ran OK at idle but would bogg down BADLY when I tried to increase throttle. I didn't put much gas in the tank so next I poured in some Sea Foam Inj. Cleaner and let it sit idling for 15 minutes. After that I got on it and now it'll go from dead idle to full throttle with no hesitation at all. This is the third mower I've used Sea Foam on and it's corrected a carb problem each time. Wonderful stuff and I for one am a believer in Sea Foam Inj cleaner.

:confused: I have a Deere L130, 2004, runs great until recently. I t starts normally but goes for maybe 5 min. shuts down. A new fuel filter, a clean air filter, fresh gas, ( siphoned off the last bit of gas), added Sta-Bilt, etc. I am a novice at engine repair, but I need to learn. Any help would be appreciated. Also, is there a manual that de-picks the engine and how to make repairs? Taking the mower to the shop is getting too expensive. Thanks, Mike

Try a new battery and clean terminals. I have an LX178 that would rough idle. Any attempt to power up resulted in a choking, no power and complete shut off if the PTO was turned on. I did all the usual stuff (drain and clean tank, replace fuel lines, filters, plugs) to no avail. Put a new battery in and it's like brand new. Power to spare.

Same problem, turned out on my L130, the vent hole in gas cap no longer looked like hole but as it didn't have one at all. I bought a new cap for $6.00 from the dealer and realized thr old one should have a hoke and it did, just dirt and time filled it in and looked smooth as it didn't have one at all. This fixed mine. Good luck...