[Shotimes] What did I do!?

[BJamesjr@aol.com]

> The oily slippery bolt fell from my hand right into
> the corner oil drain hole (oil return from the head).
>  My question is this ... where did this bolt go, did it fall into the oil
> pan and if so will it remain undisturbed at the bottom of the pan in one of
> the baffles or do I get my a$$ in gear immediately and remove the pan and
> try to find the sucker.

Almost the same thing happened to me while doing a 60k service.  The small 
tool that holds the tappets in depressed position popped out of position and 
headed straight for the hole in the front of the head.  I heard it popout, 
click against metal a couple of times, then it was quiet and nowhere to be 
seen.  I finally decided it must have gone into that hole.  I didn't know if 
it was laying on top of the crankshaft or the windage tray, so I pulled the 
pan and found the tool laying in the bottom of the pan.  It could have stayed 
there forever without causing any problems.

Likely your bolt is also in the bottom of the pan and wouldn't cause any 
trouble.  Since it is possible that the rear of the engine is different from 
the front, maybe someone with a spare engine could take a look and confirm 
that a bolt could make it into the bottom of the pan.