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GM 3.6L (217 cu in) firing order — diagram & guide

Achieving smooth operation through the GM 3.6L firing order.

A man is working on a gm engine.
A man in a blue jacket smiling in front of a red wall.
Filip Gromovic November 1, 2023 |

During the mid-2000s, GM developed a new V6 engine for its base models and it was the 3.6-liter powertrain. The rest is history since this engine is still in use to this day and it’s one of the six-cylinder engines that are longest lasting in production.

However, sometimes the engine needs a few tweaks for expert DIY mechanics and the GM 3.6L (217 cu in) firing order might help. For that sake, we’ve decided to give you a full guide including the lead into the cylinder configuration of the engine so you can get the most out of the firing sequence.

GM 3.6L firing order

The most important thing to note is that the GM 3.6L firing order is 1-2-3-4-5-6 for all the versions of the engine. There are two main versions of the engine and these are the LFX and the LLT.

Although they were featured in different vehicle types and have different output specifications, the engine block and capacity are the same. So is the firing order of the engine which means you can’t make a mistake and misplace the firing orders.

However, it’s still important to figure out the cylinder configuration of the engines, so we’ll help you with that next.

GM 3.6L cylinder diagram

A white car with blue numbers on the hood.

Besides the firing order which’s pretty hard to forget, it’s also good that the engine has a pretty simple V6 configuration. The cylinders are arranged in an “even” and an “odd” cylinder bank, which means that cylinders 1, 3, and 5 are on the left side.

On the other hand, cylinders 2, 4, and 6 are on the right side which makes it pretty easy to identify each cylinder position. Once you do, we suggest that you take a look at each cylinder based on its firing position which you’ve learned from the firing order.

GM 3.6L vehicle applications

Having in mind that there are the two mentioned engines of the same capacity made by GM, we’ve decided to give you a full list of all the vehicle applications. This way you’ll be certain that the firing order 1-2-3-4-5-6 is suitable for your vehicle:

So, if you own any of these with a 3.6-liter engine, the firing order will be 1-2-3-4-5-6.

Our take

We hope that going through this guide has helped you on your way to keep your GM V6 running silky smooth. With proper maintenance, it’s a pretty rewarding engine that easily lasts around 200,000 miles and we hope to see you rolling yours for even longer thanks to our instructions.

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