Dropped a keeper, need some help
 

Putting springs in my 94, well didnt even make it through the #1 cylinder and while putting the keepers back in i slipped and threw it right into the #2 exhaust pushrod hole :bang i covered the holes on the one i was working on but lesson learned

Ive been fishing around with a magnet for it for a while and no luck, i will be running to town tomorrow to buy a borescope to hopefully find it. Are the oil journals large enough that it wouldnt get caught in there? I already drained the oil and it didnt come out with it sadly. Any advice is appreciated

The oil pan has a boss in it for the plug so it more than likely won't come out with the oil.

You could probably get to it by taking the tappet cover off.

Go to your local parts store and see if they have a bore scope you can rent/borrow to look down the tappet hole. If it made it to the pan a bending magnet is what I would try. Unless it is on the shallow end of the pan. May need a rubber mallet to tap the pan to get it to fall in the deep end so you can get it with the magnet

Headed to get a bore scope this morning, ill try hittin the pan see if maybe i can hear it move

I also bet its in the rocker box. it would be a lucky fall to get past this area.

I don't imagine you'll hear it unless your pan was totally dry.

Just found it using the borescope, it was in the very front of the oil pan, took a lot of fishing but was able to get it out. Definentley learned a lesson on this one. Thanks for the advice

On my personal truck, I've lost a lift pump pushrod before and simply ran the truck. A few years later when I rebuild the engine, I found a total of (3) lift pump pushrods in the oil pan, zero ill effects from them bouncing around on the bottom of pan covered in oil.

I'll bet a keeper/lock would have been fine to leave in there other than your mental sanity knowing a piece of hard steel is bouncing around in the bottom end!!!