Bushranger BUSH48AL7M

I repair and restore mowers (as a hobby). Usually ride on’s, but I was recently asked to have a look at a couple of push mowers for a divorced lady in our local area. One of the mowers had been "serviced" by a dodgy mower repairer and she wanted it looked over by someone who knows their way around outdoor equipment a bit better. The other mower was the Bushranger 140R "Mulch and Catch" that her Ex-husband had had a go at and successfully failed to repair it. The first mower was a simple job to finish off what the other bloke failed to do but charged her a hefty fee for. The Bushranger was a basket case, and the cost of repair and parts was going to be too much for her, so she gave me the Bushranger as my fee for servicing her other mower 'properly'. The Bushranger mower had the air cleaner assembly completely broken off. The spark plug was not installed and was just sitting on the cooling fins of the cylinder head because the spark plug thread in the cylinder head had been cross threaded...! (how the heck do you cross thread a spark plug???) The rest of the mower was in reasonably good condition and was just missing the mulching plug. Our local Bushranger dealer has all the parts for this machine, so spares were not a problem to replace the air cleaner assembly and the mulching plug. The cylinder head was a different challenge, however. I opted to not replace the head but instead I installed a 'Recoil" thread replacement device in the spark plug hole. This worked a treat and got the engine going again. The engine is a Loncin® brand from China. I'm sceptical of Chinese stuff and the poor-quality control that I have experienced firsthand with some of the products that come out of that country. However, having spoken to the dealer and experienced this engine firsthand, I must say that Loncin® make a very good product. My mind is at ease as these engines are made to a high-quality standard. They are one of the best small engine manufacturers in China. I also was worried that the previous owner may have used the machine without the air filter and damaged the engine, but to my delight, it's just fine. I was also sceptical of the quality of the whole machine but working on this mower has revealed that it's actually very well made and very good quality. Bushranger is an Australian company supplying commercial grade outdoor power equipment for domestic use. They source the best components from overseas to suit Aussie conditions. This quality shows when you first get hold of the machine. It has a well-built, solid feel to it. The engine is 196cc with enough power for most situations. The catcher has a huge 60 litre 'soft' catcher which is easy to remove and install. I have the Bushranger for sale as we really don't need two push mowers. Our old mower is an Australian (QLD) built Rover that we've had for over 20 years and is still going strong. If it was stuffed, I'd keep the Bushranger in a heartbeat...!