Finally finished with the balance chain, guides, timing chain, and oil pump replacement on my 87 2.6l Raider. The last part was to re-install the oil pan and then replace everything I had removed or loosened to manuever the pan out and in. For those that tackle the oil pan in the future, I had a lot of luck with removing the crossmember and loosening the differential mounts until the nut was just barely on the bolt. This pivoted the diff enough to give me plenty of room to get the pan back in.
The question I have is what do I have to do to get the crossmember mounts to line back up? If I mount one side, the other will not line up. Do I need to jack the front end up and get some of the stress off of the lower arms? Also, is it OK to drive (on road, around town) without the crossmember mounted? I've had this thing in my garage for 6 months and I'm ready to drive it again. It's running very well after all of the replacements I mentioned above. What started all of this was a noisy balance chain that I ignored and it eventually broke. I was very lucky to not have any additional damage.
Thanks, Jeff

If'n it's like any other vehicle I've messed with, it will be an act of Congress to get it all lined back up. A come along, and a good strong crow's foot will help

flat head screw driver and crowbar is what i have used and worked everytime. also don't drive it without the crossmember in.