# L130 Guzzling Gas



## lordrp (Aug 19, 2007)

I bought an L130 in September 2003 from Home Depot. Generally, I've been pleased with its abilities. Since Day #1, however, it has backfired every time I turn it off with the throttle all the way down (per the manual). I read this forum and now know to throttle back about half way and then turn the key off - no backfires. But something happened the last time and now the Kohler CV23S engine is guzzling gas and also suffering loss of power. Did the backfires damage something? Is it the carburetor? The tech manual says no serviceable components, but there are some mighty inviting screws & nuts on it. Do I need a new carburetor? Is there some other problem?


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

When you say gas guzzling, how much gas are you talking about and under what conditions?


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## lordrp (Aug 19, 2007)

I have about 3/4 acre that I mow every week during the summer. I used to get about 3-mowings in a tank of gas. Now, I'm using 3/4 tank for one mowing. Not only that, but I can actually smell gasoline while I'm mowing. I looked for leaks in all of the lines, but I could not find any. The fact that I also seem to have lost power suggested to me that it's running far too rich. I put a new air filter, new fuel filter, new spark plugs. None of this helped at all.


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## wass (Jan 3, 2007)

Stuck or loosened needle valve or a hole in the carb float?


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## lordrp (Aug 19, 2007)

Is this something I can do myself? It looks like the carburetor can be taken out with relative ease. I guess at this point, I have nothing to lose. If I end up somehow ruining the carburetor, I can always buy another one.

Thanks for the help... all of you.


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I agree with Wass. Have you checked to see if Deere sells a carb rebuild kit for this carb?


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## lordrp (Aug 19, 2007)

I looked around for a rebuild kit but I couldn't find one. Instead, I removed the carburetor, took it apart, cleaned it with Gumout, put it back together, and everything seems to be working fine. The local John Deere repair shop said it couldn't be done and they wanted to sell me a new carburetor for $235. Fat chance!

Thanks for all the advice.


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