HELP: Leftover bolts after Head Gasket Replacement

[JGoodAK]

I replaced my head gasket in my 2004 hatchback Aveo this weekend, and things went relatively well. With that all being done, and things about ready to give it a go, I've got two bolt studs that have somehow lost their home.

They are a stud that has two threaded sections, with a small 5mm head on one end and the nut that goes on each is 12mm. They are similar to the bolt through the alternator bracket and the studs in the exhaust manifold, but all of those spots are filled.

There is a hole on each end of the intake manifold, but the receiving hole is bigger than the bolt provides.

Any help finding these wayward bolts a home is appreciated!! Thanks a ton!

[petrified.rabbit]

I was going to say exhaust studs immediately. They are too clean for that, so i would say intake side, but you ruled that out. Did you do any other work? iirc it you upgrade to the metal thermostat housing your need longer studs, could this be from that?

If you have holes in the ends of the intake that are not filled you also have missing hardware. which means these probably need to swap with something you already stuck back in.

How far of a tear down did you do? i typically unbolt the intake and exhaust from the head and just slide them to the side, they don't get anything disconnected that doesn't need too, and don't come out. It makes for minimal remove of items.

[JGoodAK]

I took off the entire exhaust and left the intake manifold attached to the head.

I did remove several of the intake manifold bolts before I decided disconnecting it all would be easier than removing the bolts along the bottom of the intake manifold.

To be a bit more specific, the two leftover holes are at opposite ends of the top side of the intake manifold. I cannot tell if they are threaded or not, but I can tell that they are larger in diameter than my leftover studs. I was fairly organized in my teardown, and these studs were with the intake bolts. I'm pretty sure everything else is in its proper place, and with the discrepancy between the stud's size and the remaining holes, I ruled them out, but I guess something could have been swapped.

[avguy]

Thankfully I've never needed to to a HG on our Aveos, so I can't help on anything down below. But I'm wondering if they could be valve cover bolt/studs?