According to
this thread, the OEM filter does have an anti-drainback valve.
Here is some additional useful information I saved from an old post by a guy named Ed White on an Expedition mailing list. Note that the composition of the valve may be most important. Ed also describes a possible way to determine if a filter has the desired silicone valve. (Some or all of the links may be defunct, as this post dates back to Feb. 2000.)
Almost all oil filters have anti-drainback valves. These valves keep the oil from leaking backwards through the filter into the oil pan. This keeps oil in the lifter feed lines and in the filter itself. This speeds up lubrication to important parts of the engine when you first start it up. The FL-820 has a anti-drainback valve, but it is a hard rubber type that can harden and might not seal tightly in all conditions. The FL-820S had a softer, more flexible silicone rubber anti-drainback valve that seals better (it is red, you can see it by looking through the holes in the end). This keeps the oil in the filter and oil passageways beyond the filter when the engine is stopped. I used a conventional FL-820 filter last year and on several occasions I had a lot of lifter or chain noise on start-up. I was not using synbthetic oil at the time (I was using Havoline 5W30). It was not every time and it was not necessarily on a cold start. It was a different noise from piston slap. The standard Fram Filter recommended by Fram for the Expedition, the "Extra Guard" PH-2, does not have a silicone anti-drainback valve. Fram does make a more expensive filter than includes this feature, the "Tough Guard" TG-2. These cost more than the Motorcraft FL-820S that Ford recommends, so I have never tried them.
I would recommend sticking with a filter with the silicone anti-drainback valve whether you are using regular or synthetic oil.
Here are some useful links:
http://www.pureoil.com/oil.htm
http://www.pureoil.com/catalog/catalog.asp
http://www.pureoil.com/catalog/ViewM...el1=Expedition
http://www.fram.com/oilfilters.html
http://www.fram.com/partscat_fram.html
Regards,
Ed White
