learn me: engine work please

so ive been creeping on here for a while and i love the budget work because as a to be college student in automotive mechanics i have no money. i used to drive a beater jeep patriot that was handed down to me. it threw a rod about a month ago and i picked up a 95 passat vr6 5 speed for $1500. its been worked over with cams and supposedly bigger valves and a ported head. it is also lowered. i took it out the other night and beat on it a little too much and lost oil pressure.i think i crushed the oil pan and pump. i am about to start tearing into it and im looking for any advice i can get to keep it running healthy on a budget. my biggest question is what is the best way if any way to check the main and rod bearings while im checking the oil pump? and is it worth it to replace any bad bearings without pulling the rods and crank and having them machined?

If you crushed the pan then just fix the pan and replace the broken parts. But what did you run over to do that?

i honestly dont know. me and my buddy were coming back from another city and i went over a few humps in the road at around 50mph and next thing i knew the oil pressure light was on so i pulled off and shut it down. im really hoping it is just the pan and pump. i heard valve noise from the lack of oil while pulling off but i didnt hear any knock. btw the front of the car is only like 2cm off the ground right now. i raised the back when i got it but needed an impact for the front wheels and my garage at home doesnt even have an air compressor

do you have a harbor freight nearby? electric impact ftw!

You might have smashed the pickup and maybe broken it. Not a big deal on most motors.

But if you're going to work on a car, you need some tools.

Craigslist is a great place. Harbor freight has cheap tools.

There is a saying: "only the rich can afford cheap tools."

Get that thing up in the air and take a look. Start pulling busted stuff off and see what you are dealing with.

While you have the pan off, the rod bearings would be easy enough to replace, if there is some wear but no real damage, then you can just swap out the bearings. Having new bearings in the rods might help a old engine maintain oil pressure which can assist the mains. You could remove the main caps the check/replace the bottom half of the main bearings, the top half may not be possible without major disassembly. Again if there is some wear but no real damage, no harm in replacing the bottom half of the main bearing.

The  oil pump would also be a good idea.