Yes this engine uses cracked rods. I was a little worried about this step in the assembly process as i dont have the special tool and didnt want to spend a small fortune aquiring it. I was careful to label and keep each rod and cap pair together. So the day came to put the rods on the crank and it wasn't bad at all. A couple required some perseverance but in the end my fingernail and a sharpe pick was all that was needed. The two middle main bearings are cracked to but they are aligned by the case halves, easy. All in all it went together quite easy, I guess the test will be firing it up and it's longevity... 2 strokes are pretty basic machines though