I've had to remove my oil pan twice during my turbo build, and no matter what you move, removing it's still a PITA. You WILL have to remove the front diff, but by twisting the pan around you can get it off without removing any of the steering parts. The big problem is the crossmember under the engine. It prevents the pan from dropping down far enough to get a good shot at removing it cleanly. Maybe lifting the engine is a good idea. The oil pickup also prevents the pan from dropping out cleanly, so I had too drop the pan onto the cross member, reach inside and undo the screws holding the pickup in place, let it drop into the pan, then twist the pan and remove. Once out, clean everything thoroughly, and use a silicone gasket maker in place of the gasket, drop the oil pickup back in the pan, and struggle to get it back in place without getting silicone all over your hands, and everywhere else, while bolting the pickup back in place, and twisting the pan around to get it back into position. I ended up putting the pan and pickup back in place, installing the pickup, THEN putting the gasket maker onto the edge of the pan. I hope and wish there is an easier way to do it, but I don't think so.
