A cam phaser has a stator, a rotor positioned in the stator and including a locking pin, a locking cover including a receiving feature for receiving the locking pin, a cover plate, and a check valve plate positioned between the stator and the locking cover and including a plurality of valve elements. The cam phaser also has a plurality of first openings in each of the stator, locking cover, and check valve plate, a plurality of second openings in the locking cover, and a third opening formed in the check valve plate. The cam phaser further includes a retention feature for aligning components of the cam phaser during assembly, the retention feature including one or more tabs on a first component and one or more indentations on a second component receiving the one or more tabs.