what's a cam phaser?

[mauicruza]

I'm not sure if the truck 4.6 is similar to the Mustang 4.6 so I'd like to try my question here anyway. On this weeks "Horsepower TV" on the spike channel, they brought back an old project they did last year on a 06 stang with the 4.6. They basically stroked the motor to a 5.0. Though it resulted in a drastic increase in power/trq they never mentioned about it till today. As explained for the delay was caused by the engine making a strange sound after the stroker was installed. Joe stated it was caused by a bad cam phaser not matching the aftermarket cam. That is all he said with no other explanation. So what does he mean by a "cam phazer"? Thanks

[LxMan1]

On the 3V engines, they have variable cam timing. The Phaser is what adjust the cam timing. It is spring loaded and uses oil pressure and a solenoid to make the adjustments.