I managed to separate the two halves of the filter housing and remove the inner filter component fiber - then reassemble the two halves - and reinstall under the valve cover.

Just my preference to merely destroying the filter housing or running without any housing at all under the valve cover.

The newer (or better condition) the filter is - the more it has to be soaked in some sort of solvent to get the inner filter component fiber to come apart without damaging the plastic housing!