I think I would be concerned about drilling a hole in the lid, because it will no doubt cause aluminum filings to drop down into the filter body, where they, being non-magnetic, would be quite hard to remove.

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Semibodacious Transmogrifications a Specialty

1990 300D 2.5 Turbo sedan 171K (Rudolf)
1985 300D Turbo TD Wagon 219K (Remuda)

"Time flies like and arrow, yet fruit flies like a banana"
---Marx (Groucho)