List of GM engines
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This page chronicles the many automobile engines that General Motors has used in its various marques.
GM currently uses certain terminology to refer to groups of engines, but this terminology does not necessarily isolate families. In other words, not all of the Vortec engines share common ancestry.
In North America, GM uses universal three-character alphanumeric RPO codes to refer to a specific car option, including engine model. Even with 55 thousand distinct codes possible, many of these have been reused over the years, and new RPO codes are sometimes used for very similar engines, however.
GM LAAM (Latin America, Africa and Mid-East) and GM Europe uses four- to six-charecter SKU codes, such as CN22E, to represent family, displacement and engine features.
Unlike Chrysler and Ford, each GM division had its own line of engines until the 1970s. For this reason, making sense of GM engines can be difficult. For example, Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac each had a different 350 in³ V8 design!
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Diesel
The history of Diesel engines at General Motors has not been positive. In the 1970s, the company was unable to power its large cars and trucks with their emissions-strangled engines. Like many other companies, GM turned to Diesel power, directing the Oldsmobile division to develop two V6 and one V8 to be shared with all divisions.
Oldsmobile's engines, the 5.7 L LF9 and 4.3 L LF7 V8s and 4.3 L LT6/LT7/LS2 V6, were notoriously unreliable. Although over one million were sold between 1978 and 1985, the failure rate of GM's engines ruined the reputation of Diesel engines in general in the United States market. Eventually, a class action lawsuit resulted in an arbitration system under the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission where consumers could claim 80% of the original cost of the engine in the event of a failure.
The primary problem with GM's Diesel engines of the 1970s was their design — they were based on Oldsmobile's 350 V8. This gasoline block was unable to withstand the higher cylinder pressures and temperatures of Diesel use. This led to catastrophic failure of pistons, cylinder heads, and even cylinder walls. Reinforced Diesel engines, from GM and other companies, did not have these problems.
Today, GM uses Diesel engines from DMAX (for trucks) but offers no domestic Diesel passenger cars. General Motors' Opel division is one of the leading proponents of Diesel cars in Europe, however. Opel uses common rail direct injection engines designed and produced by Fiat S.p.A and Isuzu. Ownership of both designs was acquired by GM in 2005, and a new GM Powertrain division in Turin, Italy (home of Fiat) was founded to manage these assets. GM Daewoo recently licensed two common rail designs from VM Motori.
Straight-3
- 1985-1986 GM I3 engine
- 1996 Ecotec Family 0 - 1.0 L DOHC
- Non-GM engines:
Straight-4
- 1913-1928 Chevrolet 171
- 1962-1984 Chevrolet 153 - 153 in³/2.5 L from the Chevy II
- 1961-1963 Pontiac 195 - pushrod I4
- 1965-1984 Opel OHV - pushrod I4
- 1971-1977 2300 - SOHC I4
- 1977-1993 Iron Duke - 151 in³/2.5 L pushrod I4, AKA Tech IV/Crossflow/2500/Pontiac 2.5
- 1980s OHV - 1.8/2.0/2.2 L OHV I4
- Family II - OHC engines for compact cars
- 1988-1995 Quad-4 - 2.3 L DOHC I4
- Family 1 - OHC engines for compact cars
- 1990-2000 Saturn - 1.9 L SOHC/DOHC
- 1996 Family 0 Ecotec - 1.2 L DOHC engine for Opel/Vauxhall cars
- Family II Ecotec - 2.0/2.2/2.4 L DOHC engines
- 2003 Turbo - 2.0 L turbocharged (Opel)
- 2001 L61 - 2.2 L
- 2005 DI - 2.2 L Direct injection (Opel)
- 2000s L42 - 2.2 L CNG
- 2000s LSJ - 2.0 L supercharged for Saturn ION Red Line and Chevrolet Cobalt SS.
- 2005 LE5 - 2.4 L VVT
- Vortec - longitudinal I4 for trucks
- 2000s L43/LN2 2200 - 2.2 L
- Atlas - longitudinal I4 for trucks
- 2004-present LK5 Vortec 2800 - 2.8 L
- Non-GM engines:
- 1960-1973Triumph/Saab Slant-4 - 1.7/1.85/2.0/2.3 L Saab engine
- 1973-1981 Saab B engine
- 1981-present Saab H engine
- 2000s LV6/LNK - 1.8 L Toyota I4 for the Pontiac Vibe
- 2002 S-TEC - 1.0/1.2 L SOHC designed by Daewoo Motors
- Circle L - 1.7 L Diesel designed by Isuzu
- JTD - 1.9 L Diesel designed by Fiat
Straight-5
- Atlas - longitudinal I5 for trucks
- 2004-present L52 Vortec 3500 - 3.5 L
Straight-6
GM has produced a few families of straight-6 engines. The first was introduced 1929 to replace the straight-4 previously used in Chevrolet cars. It lasted until the 1970s in GM cars, and all the way until 1985 in Chevrolet and GMC trucks. A new straight-6 was introduced in 2002 as part of GM's Atlas truck engine program.
- 1929-1936 Chevrolet Generation 1 (181/194/207)
- 1935-1936 Pontiac 208
- 1937-1950 Oldsmobile/GMC (215/230/238/257)
- 1937-1953 Chevrolet Generation 2 (216/235/261)
- 1937-1954 Pontiac/GMC (222/223/239)
- 1939-1953 GMC (228/236/248/256/270)
- 1962-1984 Chevrolet Generation 3/Post-Stovebolt/L22 (194/230/250/292)
- 1964-1965 Pontiac 215
- 2002-present Atlas LL8 Vortec 4200 - 4.2 L
Flat-6
General Motors produced just one flat-6 engine, the 1960s Chevrolet Corvair engine. This air-cooled aluminum engine was notable for many things, including being one of the first turbocharged engines in history.
V6
General Motors was the pioneer of the V6 engine in the United States, putting the first American V6, the Buick Special's 198 in³ V6, on the road in 1962. But the company quickly lost interest in the small engine family and sold it to Kaiser in 1967. In the midst of the fuel crisis of the 1970s, GM realized that a V6 engine would be an excellent alternative to bulky straight-6 and large V8 engines, so the company bought the design back and launched the familiar 3800 line.
At that same time, the company began designing a 60° V6 for their new compact cars. This line started slowly, powering only the smallest cars. One notable version was the DOHC LQ1, designed with Lotus. The smooth and compact 60° engine has become GM's platform of the future, spawning the new global High Value family.
Other V6es came and went in recent decades, including the V8-derived Olds Diesel 4.3 and Vortec 4300 and Premium V-based LX5. The European Opel/Cadillac/Saturn 54° V6 has spawned the company's other future V6, the global High Feature DOHC engine.
- 90° "3800" V6 family - Pushrod V6
- Series I:
- Series II:
- 2000s L36 3800 - 3.8 L
- 2000s L67 3800 SC - 3.8 L supercharged
- Series III:
- 2000s L26 3800 - 3.8 L
- 2000s L32 3800 SC - 3.8 L supercharged
- 60° V6 family - Pushrod V6
- 1960-1978 GMC 305
- 1980s Olds Diesel 4.3 - 4.3 L Oldsmobile Diesel
- 1985-present Vortec 4300 - 4.3 L V6 developed from the Chevrolet 302 in³ V8
- 1985-2002 L35/LF6 - 4.3 L central-port injected
- 1985-1998 LB4 - 4.3 L TBI
- 2002-present LU3/LG3 - 4.3 L Multi-port injected
- Opel/Cadillac/Saturn 54° DOHC V6
- 1990s LX5 3500 - 3.5 L DOHC Oldsmobile V6 based on the Premium V
- High Value 60° V6 family - Descended from the 60° V6
- High Feature - DOHC V6
- Non-GM engines:
Straight-8
- 1934-1936 La Salle
- 1934-1953 Buick Series 40-90 (233/248/263/320)
- 1937-1949 Oldsmobile 257
- 1940s GM Straight-8 engine
V8
From the 1950s through the 1970s, each GM division had its own V8 engine family. Many were shared among other divisions, but each design is most-closely associated with its own division. Chevrolet had two different V8s, the big-block and small-block. Today, there are only three V8 engines produced by GM: Chevrolet's Generation IV small-block and big-block, and Cadillac's advanced DOHC V8, the Northstar.
- 1914-1992 Cadillac V8
- 1914 Type 51 314 in³ (5.1 L)
- 1928 341/346/322 341 in³ (5.6 L), 346 in³ (5.7 L), 322 in³ (5.3 L)
- 1949 331 331 in³ (5.4 L), 365 in³ (6.0 L), 390 in³ (6.4 L)
- 1963 429 429 in³ (7.0 L), 472 in³ (7.7 L), 500 in³ (8.2 L)
- 1977 L33/L35/L61/L62 425 in³ (7.0 L), 368 in³ (6.0 L) V8-6-4
- 1982 LC7/LT8/LQ6/LR6/LW2/L26 4.1 L, 4.5 L, 4.9 L
- 1949-1990 Oldsmobile Rocket V8
- 1949-1964 Generation 1 (303/324/371/394/215)
- 1964-1990 Generation 2 (330/400/425/455/350/403/260/307/305)
- 1953-1980 Buick V8
- 1953-1959 Buick/Chevrolet Truck (264/322)
- 1957-1966 Nailhead (364/400/401/425)
- 1961-1980 Buick "Small-Block" (215/300/340/350)
- 1967-1976 Buick "Big-Block" (400/430/455)
- 1954-1980 Pontiac V8
- 1955-1958 Pontiac/GMC V8 (287/288/316/336/347/370)
- 1959-1979 Pontiac "Big Block" (389/400/421/428/455)
- 1963-1967 Pontiac 326
- 1968-1980 Pontiac "Small Block" (301/350/403/265)
- 1958-1983 GMC
- 1961-1964 Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac 215 aluminum V8 (now Rover V8 engine)
- 1954-1968 Chevrolet small-block V8
- 1969-1991 Chevrolet 350 small-block
- 1958-present Chevrolet Big-Block engine
- 1958-1965 Generation 1 (348/409)
- 1965 Generation 2 (396/427/454)
- L18 Vortec 8100 - 8.1 L V8
GM later standardized on the later generations of the Chevrolet design:
- 1990-1994 LT5 - Corvette ZR-1 V8
- 1993-1997 Generation 2 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 1998-present Generation 3 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 1998-2004 LS1 - 5.7 L V8
- 2001-2004 LS6 - High-output LS1
- LR4 Vortec 4800 - 4.8 L
- L33 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LM4 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LM7 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LQ4 Vortec 6000 - 6.0 L
- LQ9 Vortec HO 6000 - High-output 6.0 L
- 2005-present Generation 4 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 2005-present LS2 - 6.0 L
- LS4 - 5.3 L Pontiac
- 2005-present LS7 7.0 L High-performance Gen IV engine
- LH6 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L Vortec
Other GM V8 engines include the following:
- Duramax Diesel V8 family:
- LG4 - 5.2 L diesel
- LLY - 6.6 L supercharged diesel
- 1992-present Premium V DOHC
- LD8/L37/LH2 Northstar - 4.6 L V8
- L47 Aurora - 4.0 L V8
V12
Cadillac has produced just one V12 engine, in the 1930s. Since then, the company has twice prepared a new V12, but has not yet brought one into production.
- 1930-1937 Cadillac V12
- 1980s Cadillac Aluminum V12 - Never produced
- 2000s Cadillac Northstar V12 - Upcoming V12 variant
V16
Cadillac is a rarity in having produced two of only three production V16 engines in history:
- 1930-1937 Series 452
- 1938-1940 Series 90