Persistent intake camshaft angle offset after two timing jobs

[BIGICCCCE]

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice regarding a persistent intake cam phaser / VCT angle issue on my EcoBoost engine.
Background

• Engine was recently rebuilt
• After the rebuild, the engine jumped timing once
• Since then, timing has been set twice
• The two timing jobs were done by two different technicians
• On the second timing job, both intake and exhaust VVT wheels were replaced with new OEM parts
• Engine was not removed from the vehicle

Despite all of this, the camshaft angle behavior is almost identical after both timing jobs.

Datalog Observations (Two Separate CSV Files)
Intake Camshaft

• Target angle: 0°
• Actual angle: approximately +25° to +30°
• Intake cam appears to be mechanically stuck around +29°
• This occurs:
  • At cold start
  • At idle
  • When ECU is clearly commanding 0°
• During RPM increase:
  • Intake cam does not return to 0°
  • Very limited or no dynamic response

Exhaust Camshaft

• Target angle: 0°
• Actual angle: roughly -5° to +5°
• Follows target correctly
• Appears normal and responsive

So the situation is:

• Exhaust cam behaves normally
• Intake cam shows a large fixed offset

Work Already Done

• Timing set twice
• Two different technicians
• Both VVT wheels replaced (OEM)
• Same intake cam offset after each timing job

Questions

1. Is it possible for the intake cam phaser to be installed in an incorrect internal position, while timing tools still fit?
2. On EcoBoost engines, does the intake cam phaser have a mechanical lock / default position that must be reset manually during installation?
3. If the intake phaser were installed one internal step off, would the ECU always see ~+25–30° actual angle at 0° target?
4. Without removing the engine:
   • Is there a way to mechanically verify or force the intake cam phaser to true mechanical zero on the car?
5. Has anyone seen cases where:
   • Exhaust cam is normal
   • Intake cam is permanently offset
   • And the root cause was phaser indexing, not basic timing alignment?

Summary

• Two timing jobs
• Two different technicians
• Same intake cam offset both times

This strongly suggests a mechanical phaser indexing / lock position issue, rather than a simple timing alignment error.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.