GM 5.7L (346 cu in) firing order — diagram & guide

If you own a vehicle from GM’s sub-brands powered by a 5.7L V8, you can rest assured that the engine can push some serious mileage. Of course, it had many flaws and perks, but the small-block V8 has always been GM’s masterpiece in various forms.

To help you keep yours running smoothly, our team of dedicated automotive enthusiasts has devised this guide on GM 5.7L (346 cu in) firing order. That way you can hedge those flaws and keep the engine well-maintained yourself, so let’s get right into it.

GM 5.7L firing order

Talking about the small-block V8 version, the GM 5.7L firing order is 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3, just like for the previous and successor engines of the same type. This makes things more convenient for DIY mechanics since you won’t have to bother about using the wrong firing order of another small block V8.

There are still some details about this engine that we need to discuss so you can use the firing order for the benefit of your car. For starters, the engine is placed longitudinally within the engine bay, which means it’s a regular V8 setup with the left and the right cylinder bank.

We’ll walk you through the cylinder positions of this engine for an easier understanding of what the firing order can help you achieve.

GM 5.7L cylinder diagram

Before using the firing order you first need to identify the engine’s cylinders, and the first one is the key cylinder for getting started. It can easily be found on the right side of the engine or within the right cylinder bank.

This bank also houses the cylinders 3, 5, and 7, while the first one is right at the front of it above the crank pulley. The left cylinder bank includes cylinders 2. 4. 6. and 8, front to back. So, this makes it easy for you to apply the firing order properly which includes checking up on each cylinder’s plugs and coils in the exact firing order.

GM 5.7L vehicle applications

The 5.7-liter engine was used from the late 90s to the mid-2000s in various GM family brand models. So, we wanted to give you a complete list with all the models featured to help you figure out if your car’s engine uses the same firing order:

• Chevy Corvette
• Chevy Camaro Z28
• Chevy Camaro SS
• Pontiac Firebird
• Pontiac Trans Am
• Holden Commodore
• Holden Caprice
• Holden Monaro
• Holden Statesman

The engine was also used in high-performance Holden Special Vehicles Y-Series GTS.

Our take

Overall, the list of models using this engine settles it for our guide on the GM 5.7-liter V8. We hope you’ve been able to get all the necessary pieces of information to make your small-block V8 run properly for years to come, and remember to consider the cylinder positions laid out in this guide before using the firing order.