Well the thing is I never even began the pulling of the new chain trough. Everything is in the same spot where it began, I never moved the crank or the cam gear, so I know that the chain is at the same spot on the cam gear because the master link is at top of the gear. I don't think the chain came off the IP gear, because it looks like the chain guide would prevent that unless it had fallen the whole way into the engine, which it didn't. So basically I can pull the old chain on the passenger side up to the cam gear, but it's about 2 inches short, so I guess I can assume that there is about 2 inches of extra chain on the drivers side of the crank gear. I know the crank pulley is within 1/4 inch of where it was before this happened. My theory is if I can access the bottom of the crank gear, I can get the chain taught again and it should be able to meet up with the other section at the cam gear. So what's the best way to access the crank gear? I looked at the oil pan, and didn't realize it was so big. It looks like I'd have to pull the sway bar, and the little box attatched to the side. Is the gasket for the pan reusable? If not, can I use a liquid gasket? The problem arises that it's the weekend, and getting a factory gasket would not be possible for a few days.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head