Boy, did I mess up royally! It looks like the little round plastic screen filter thingy (looks like a wagon wheel) from the old fuel pressure regulator fell down the intake (front right) while retrieving it from where it was stuck inside the injector housing spider thingy. I have looked all around the area where it dropped out, and can't find it anywhere. The only place left is the hole for the intake. Does anybody think there is a way to get it out without pulling the lower intake manifold?
Now my wife is trying to help, I need a miracle! And fast!

 

Pull the lower intake and pray it is there and it did not go into the cylinder head.

 

Shop vac with some smaller hose taped to it or a crevice tool. use an empty shop vac so you can inspect the contents after you go hunting.

 

I appreciate the replies. I will try the shop vac method. Maybe I would be better off to just pull the intake (and maybe the heads, if needed), since this engine used Dexcool, and it has been losing coolant consistently for a long time for no apparent reason. It could be that a degraded intake gasket has been involved all along. I'm not sure, but I guess that a gasket problem would slowly deteriorate into a much larger problem anyhow. So an entire upper rebuild wouldn't be too bad an idea (unless I get lucky and find the lost part while removing the alternator, etc.).
I am only a DIYer by neccessity, so thanks again!

 

Or cry, depending on one's disposition. Anyhow, having now removed the lower intake, this is what I see. Comments, questions, or recommendations, anyone?



Note what I think is damage to the gasket (can you say Dexcool?) in the closeup.



Glad that I decided to change the gaskets! Curiously, there is still no sign of the little black plastic wagon wheel filter thingy that fell off the new fuel pressure regulator (and supposedly into the #1 intake). Not anywhere! It probably rolled down the drive and is in the next county by now...



This last shot shows that I have learned my lesson, at least for now!

 

Sure, I can say DexCool. I can also say that it had nothing to do with the problem. As we have discussed over and over, the problem is with the gasket material that GM used in these and certain other engines. Replace it with the correct Fel-Pro gasket set and you can use whatever type of coolant you wish with no further problem.

 

The problem with DexCool is that it's not compatible with other coolants. You pull into the oil change bay and the guy says the coolant was low and he topped it off....what with? A few years ago you put in a new radiator and switched over to good ole green Prestone. The guy checks the computer and it says to use DexCool so he helps you out by topping it off with the proper GM coolant. I never knew there was a problem with mixing the types until I joined here. How may people out there have topped off their own system with regular antifreeze instead of DexCool?

 

The more I hear about these problems, the more interesting it gets. I have decided, therefore, to use only antifreeze that claims to be universal. Haven't heard anything bad about that stuff (yet).
I am curious about the gasket material, and I am guessing that it may be possible to buy them made from the wrong material. Ergo, sticking with one known good brand is a safe bet in all cases, meaning 'Felpro'.
My present concern is whether (or not) to pull the heads. I REALLY don't want to, but that is where I will depend on a more experienced set of eyes. Time to pull the valve covers, ugh! I'm afraid to look.

 

This actually sheds some light on my situation. When I pulled the heads on mine it was like a scene from a horror film. The coolant ports were half clogged with gunk from mix-match coolant I assume. It was nasty. I felt much better after getting the heads reconditioned and cleaning the manifolds. It makes me wonder about the condition of the radiator actually. I had back flushed in the past, but that apparently didn't do anything for this sludgy buildup that was in there.