10/14/2026
It kills me seeing my engines go through hell because someone doesn’t know how to handle an initial startup.
Injectors wired wrong. Coil harnesses on the wrong cylinders. Some gap-toothed, fat-fingered buffoon punching keys, convinced he can tune his way around a wiring mistake instead of using actual diagnostic skills.
Then someone says, “Well, it won’t hurt the engine.”
It absolutely can.
Repeatedly dumping fuel into a cylinder that isn’t firing can wash oil off the cylinder walls and dilute the oil. An ignition event at the wrong crank angle can cause kickback, loading the rotating assembly and starter as combustion fights the engine’s rotation.
When I was 14, I installed a distributor wrong. When that thing finally lit the fuel accumulated in the exhaust, it sounded like a bomb went off. It bent the exhaust and split the muffler seams clean apart. That lesson stuck.
Knowing how to change numbers on a laptop doesn’t mean you know how to diagnose an engine.
If your fresh engine is popping, banging, or kicking back, STOP. Verify the wiring, cylinder assignments, firing order, crank/cam synchronization, and actual ignition timing before trying again.
Cranking it and praying it sorts itself out won’t fix it. I promise.
