Hi everyone,

Hope you're all merry and bright!

OK...I've got an XT350 --- 1989 and the pesky countershaft has gone and lost all its splines, so it just sits and spins inside the drive cog. With 66,000 miles on her, I'm thinking its time to shift my mechanicing skills up a notch (or five! ;-) and do an over-haul/rebuild of the bottom end. (Top-end is ok - there's a new piston and cylinder in there already).



The question is - What should I replace? The current list is:

Countershaft
Timing chain

and I'll also cast an eye over the

Oil pump
Clutch (was on the list before the countershaft went zzwzz)

...and I feel i should replace the bearings and oil seals for the transmission shafts, the balancer shaft and crankshaft but I don't have the tools that my Clymer manual tells me I need [a crankcase seperating tool and a crankshaft installing tool] How vital are these tools? Is it possible to make them or improvise? [I could take it down to a mechanic for these steps, I guess]


So, is there anything I should look out for? (eg. do XT350s have the same 5th gear issue as other bigger XTs)
What is missing from the list?
Any little pins/grommets/bushes etc that I don't actually remove in the general process that i should renew along the way?


Help and advice greatly appreciated...

Cheers,

Pev