When I changed the oil in my 2000 Ford Ranger there was only a small amount of oil in the filter. The engine is the 3.0 V6 and has oil pressure and sounds fine.
Was it cold at the time, or after running and warm? I’ve had oil filters come off with very little oil dripping out if it was cold from sitting overnight.
There are different filters (some have anti-drain valves and others do not, and different positions. Some filters will have only a small amount of oil and others will have more.
Note: if you use a filter without a drain valve when you should, it means a little more wear every time you start the engine. Not using the right filter or having that drain valve fail once is not going to cause a problem, but you would not want to do it all the time.
There are different filters (some have anti-drain valves and others do not, and different positions. Some filters will have only a small amount of oil and others will have more.
Weather or not a filter has a anti-drain valve has nothing to do with the filter manufacturer, but instead the vehicle the filter is designed for. Fram and Wix make many filters WITHOUT a anti-drain valve…BECAUSE the engine the filter was designed for doesn’t need one. If the engine needs one then you can be assured there is one no matter what oil filter you buy.
When the engine is cold, start it up and as it warms up, see if the oil filter is getting hot. If it is, the oil is circulating through the filter.