It works pretty much how I said.....take the bolts out of the oil pan, drop it down, rotate it 180* and work it off over the pickup tube. You just have to work with it and figure out how it comes off.
These engines do throw rods sometimes....but I believe it is from abuse (lack of maintenance (oil changes and/or low oil level), or over-revving) and not a design flaw. Although, the earlier 8Vs didn't have as many counterbalancers on the crank, and some people think that is why they would throw rods....but the later ones throw rods too, so who knows.