Problem with 1996 Ford Windstar Mini Van

The van was running great- I stopped at the store and when I went to start it again, It made a loud clanging noise, put a hole in the oil pan, NOW it runs very rough-- Had it towed home.

Is it hard to get the oil pan off? to see what happened?

Would it be a rod or maybe the oil pump?

Wow! - Hole in the oil pan!?

This is likely a real occurrence of an overused expression: You've thrown a rod.

The oil pump is actually part of the front timing cover assembly, so nothing nearby that should be able to punch holes in anything.

Any other warning signs or problems you can share? A failed connecting rod is generally at the end of a long chain of symptoms.

Sadly, it's hard to imagine a scenario that involves a hole in the pan that's worth repairing. Still, if you do drop the pan, let us know what you learn; I'm curious to find out what happened.

To drop the pan, you need to remove the "Y" pipe......which includes the 2 catalytic converters.
I have had mine off........
First soak all the bolts that I mention with P-Blaster or other super good penetrating oil.
You need to unplug all 4 of the oxygen sensors.
Use some stiff wire to make a loop to hold up the flex pipe that connects to the rear of the "Y" pipe......to prevent it from being damaged by dangling once you disconnect it from the "Y" pipe.
Then, remove the 2 nuts at the back of the "Y" pipe.....at the flex pipe.
Remove the 2 nuts from each exhaust manifold.
Remove the support bolt that goes into the transaxle.....be ready and support the "Y" pipe as you do this.

Now......when I did all this.....to replace the factory catalytic converters due to rattling insides......I found that the metal around the "downstream" oxygen sensor that was mounted into the rear most catalytic coverter.....was super thin and weak.
The oxygen sensor mounting ring broke right out of the converter.....
So....be very careful about this sensor.
The OEM replacement "Y" pipe lists at about $1600.
Cheapest that I found it online was just over $1200
Which is why....in my pictures.....you will see that I bought a Walker "direct fit" replacement for just over $300.

I cannot offer any help on the internals of your engine.