I'll try and make this short and not so sweet.

Past few days the lifter noise has become incrisingly regular (it used to only happen until it warmed up). So today I get the bright idea to run some SeaFoam through the PCV tube, I did it before a while back, about 50k ago, the same way.
Well everything is going great, and I finish up. Just because I'm already there I decide to check the PCV (which was also change about 50k ago) and see if it needs replacing. I give the PCV a nice pull but notice something different. I was missing the entire bottom of the rubber gromet that fits in the hole. It snaped off clean at the top of the valve cover and fell in.
Even with my best efforts with every tool I hade, I managed to loose it deep enough in the hole so its imposible to retrieve from the outside.
I have already begun to pull the Valve Cover on that side, new parts will be ordered tommorow. But I have never dug into my engine at all, I'm on forgien soil at this point. The questions I got are these.
- If this gromet was to fall in, where could it possibly end up? The diagram in the manual shows a solid plate covering the PCV hole (from inside the cover), so the gromet couldn't go too far, is this right?
- Also, about this plate I'm seeing in the manual, is it removable?
- And is there anything I need to replace other than the Vavle Cover Gasket and PCV itself? Maybe the o-rings around the spark plugs <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />.

**The picture I'm refering to is Haynes Manual, 2D-3, 3.14b**
3.2L SOHC, 95.5 Rodeo

Thanks

Scott F.