Ever since 1999, the Chevy Silverado became a trendsetter model in the full-size truck category. It’s no wonder that the car offered impeccable towing capacity, space, and reliable engine options at a fair price. Fast forward four generations and the model is still going strong to this day.
However, the different Chevy Silverado trims and various engine options contributed to a lot of confusion among drivers and owners when it came to engine maintenance. That’s why our team of automotive experts has decided to give you all the key details on the Chevy Silverado (1999-2023) firing order regardless of your engine type.
| CAR MODEL YEAR | ENGINE | FIRING ORDER |
|---|---|---|
| Silverado 1st Gen (1999-2007) | 4.3L V6 | 1-6-5-4-3-2 |
| 4.8L Vortec | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 | |
| 5.3L V8 | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 | |
| 6.0L V8 | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 | |
| Silverado 2nd Gen (2007-2013) | 6.2L Vortec V8 | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 |
| Silverado 3rd Gen (2014-2019) | 6.6L Duramax | 1-2-7-8-4-5-6-3 |
| 6.0L Vortec | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 | |
| Silverado 4th Gen (2020-present) | 2.7L Turbo | 1-3-4-2 |
| 6.2L EcoTec V8 | 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 | |
| 3.0L Duramax Diesel | 1-5-3-6-2-4 |
First-generation Chevy Silverado (1999-2007) firing order
Ever since the introduction of the first-gen Silverado, Chevy knew what they were doing with this large truck model. So, they already included some of the engine options that would stick up to the fourth generation, and that’s just how reliable these proved to be.
Among these, Chevy offered V6 and V8 options depending on the trim, so let’s see what their respective firing orders are.
Chevy Silverado 4.3L firing order
The 4.3-liter Vortec engine served as the base engine option for the first-gen Silverado. So, the Chevy Silverado 4.3L firing order is 1-6-5-4-3-2, and it’s a V6 engine with the first cylinder being on the driver’s side. The engine has two cylinder banks and one of them is “even” while the other one is “odd”.
So, the driver’s side cylinders are 1, 3, and 5 front to rear, while the passenger’s side cylinders are 2, 4, and 6 front to rear.
Chevy Silverado 4.8L firing order
Another Vortec engine used in the first-gen Silverado is the 4.8-liter V8 and this one has a firing order of 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3. The cylinder arrangement of this engine is 1, 3, 5, and 7 on the driver’s side and 2, 4, 6, and 8 on the passenger’s side.
Of course, the cylinders are numbered front to rear and that makes the Vortec engine one of the simplest options to maintain.
Chevy Silverado 5.3L firing order
Another V8 engine option for a first-gen Silverado is the 5.3-liter engine shared by this model and the Sierra. The Chevy Silverado 5.3L firing order is 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 and the engine’s cylinders are also arranged in the same way as for the 4.8-liter V8.
So, cylinders 1, 3, 5, and 7 are on the driver’s side front to rear, while even cylinder numbers go from 2 to 8 on the passenger’s side.
Chevy Silverado 6.0L firing order
Finally, the high-output and heavy-duty versions of the Silverado featured the 6.0-liter engine in the first-gen model. That means that the Chevy Silverado 6.0L firing order is 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 and this only goes for the Silverado 2500 version of the car.
The engine’s cylinders are arranged in the same way as for the previously-mentioned V8 engines, so you have cylinders 1, 3, 5, and 7 on the driver’s side and cylinders 2, 4, 6, and 8 on the passenger’s side.
Second-generation Chevy Silverado (2007-2013) firing order
For the second-gen model, a lot of things have remained the same since the Silverado still featured all the mentioned V6 and V8 engine options, with predominantly Vortec engines. However, there’s the addition of the 6.2-liter V8 for heavy-duty trims for this generation model, and that’s what we’ll discuss.
Chevy Silverado 6.2L firing order
We already said that the 6.2-liter V8 is the only added option for the second-gen of the Silverado and that’s for a good reason. Not only did the previous options prove to be reliable, but the 6.2-liter was needed for the heavy-duty type of the model.
So, if you own this one, the Chevy Silverado 6.2L firing order is1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 and the cylinders are also arranged in the same way as for the remaining V8s. So, cylinders 1, 3, 5, and 7 are on the driver’s side, and cylinders 2, 4, 6, and 8 are on the passenger’s side.
Third-generation Chevy Silverado (2014-2019) firing order
The third-gen model still kept the Vortec engine options but this time we had the re-introduction of the 6.0-liter V8 from the first generation and the addition of the 6.6-liter Duramax. The diesel engine precisely is the one to pay attention to because of its wide application for heavy-duty models.
Chevy Silverado 6.6L firing order
Unlike the V8 petrol options, the Duramax diesel engine has its own cylinder configuration and a distinctive firing sequence. The Chevy Silverado 6.6L firing order is 1-2-7-8-4-5-6-3 and the Duramax engine has two cylinder banks containing four cylinders each.
If you own a Silverado with this engine, the first cylinder is on the passenger’s side along with cylinders 3, 5, and 7. The cylinders are arranged front to rear, while cylinders 2, 4, 6, and 8 are on the driver’s side, so the difference between the diesel V8 and petrol V8s is obvious.
Fourth-generation Silverado (2020-present) firing order
Finally, we reached the ongoing production model gen of the Silverado and this one received quite a few updates among engine options. The most important ones are the smaller 3.0-liter Duramax diesel along with the four-cylinder turbo petrol engine.
The 6.2-liter V8 was reintroduced as the EcoTec V8 engine, but this one is based on the previous 6.2-liter V8 and it features the same 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 cylinder firing sequence.
Chevy Silverado 3.0L Duramax firing order
The Chevy Silverado 3.0L Duramax firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4 and this engine is pretty specific since it’s not like the bigger and more powerful 6.6-liter V8. Instead, this one is a straight-six turbo diesel engine with cylinders going from 1 to 6 in a straight line from the front of the pulley toward the windshield,.
Chevy Silverado 2.7L firing order
Finally, we have the 2.7-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with the firing order 1-3-4-2 and this one is a pretty specific powertrain. The most interesting thing about it is that it’s the only four-cylinder engine ever used in a Silverado, yet it still delivers proper power output and towing capacity.
This one is also the easiest one to maintain, keeping in mind that the cylinders go from 1 to 4 from left to right.
Our take
It’s been quite a ride through the engines of different Chevy Silverado trims, but we hope that you now have all the necessary knowledge to properly address your engine’s issues.
Make sure to differentiate between the diesel and petrol options, and to use the appropriate firing order for your engine which should now be easier thanks to our guide.
