No, it is not crucial as long as you take care not to lose any components or forget the assembly sequence. The clip is just there to prevent this disassembly! Once it is all assembled on the car, the large disc is pushed down away from the clip by the filter.
If you keep the filter bowl the right way up as you take it off the car, you can lift the filter out, then hold the end of the bolt while tipping the oil out.
If you keep the filter bowl the right way up as you take it off the car, you can lift the filter out, then hold the end of the bolt while tipping the oil out.
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