We've probably all dropped tools and had trouble finding them. Last week I started taking off the valve cover I put on my '01 Sport Trac just before it quit running for possible use on my '02. In the process, I dropped my 1/4 swivel extension. I didn't think it sounded like it fell all the way to the ground, couldn't find it, and didn't spend much time looking for it. Today I searched for it on the ground with no luck. Looking up from behind the front tire, I spotted a tiny shiny spot inside the front U-joint. Sure enough, it was the lost extension! In the couple of minutes it took me to get screwdrivers and pliers to retrieve it, the light changed and the extension wasn't visible. It wouldn't have caused a problem because the truck will probably never run again, and it probably would have fallen out anyway. If this happened on a truck that was driveable and the extension wedged in the U-joint, it could be bad!
Once when I was installing the passenger side head on the 460 in my Ranchero, the socket fell off my torque wrench as I lifted it off the headbolt. An 11/16 socket shouldn't be hard to find, but I couldn't find that one - until I started driving and heard it rolling around in the bellhousing! I'd had to take the starter out to get the header off to remove the head, and the socket somehow managed to fall and ricochet through the starter opening.
Once when I was installing the passenger side head on the 460 in my Ranchero, the socket fell off my torque wrench as I lifted it off the headbolt. An 11/16 socket shouldn't be hard to find, but I couldn't find that one - until I started driving and heard it rolling around in the bellhousing! I'd had to take the starter out to get the header off to remove the head, and the socket somehow managed to fall and ricochet through the starter opening.
