I am in the process of putting my intake manifold back on and one of the bolts fell down through the distributor hole all the way to the oil pan!
I tried two different magnet retrieval tools with no luck. I guess I'll have to drop the pan but I remember hearing before that the engine must be lifted in order for the pan to clear. Is this true? Can I get away with loosening it and trying to sneak the retrieval tool in through the opening? Please help. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

if it's in the pan then it will never be any harm, so just leave it.
If it's wedged against the crank & never made it into the pan, then that's bad.

 

Leave it there? Seriously? I heard it bounce around a bit the I heard a distinct 'thump' sound which at the time sounded like it would have hit the pan. I'll drain the oil and see if I can at least touch it through the drain hole to make sure. Thanks

 

Do not leave it in there! This happened on my brothers Camaro. We were missing a bolt and didn't know where it went. We ended up finding it when we pulled the oil pan off a few weeks later to replace the gasket. We found the destroyed bolt and tons of small metal pieces from it banging around. Unless you want to kill you engine get that thing out of there.

 

Absolutely, what he said, do not leave it in there! If the bolt head isn't too large, try draining the oil and using the largest magnet that you can to drag the bolt towards the drain plug hole. I have seen this work on a couple of occassions. Takes a little patience to locate and manipulate the bolt since you're working blind but beats pulling the pan. Good luck .