Pros and Cons of the 2.2L Ecotec L61

[clmatt]

Hi, new user here. I did a search of this topic but found nothing. Anyway I'm glad I found this forum and be interested to know what you all think of this engine. Thx!

 

[zora]

the engine itself seems to have been in production from 2000 to 2008 and there were a number of production changes which would point to using a 2007 and up engine.
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f19/2-2-ecotec-l61-upgraded-2007-a-50503/

 

[clmatt]

Would you say it is a good engine? Does it have any pitfalls you know of? Any idea what its longevity is?

 

[zora]

there is no rule of thumb, people treat their vehicles all different sorts of ways. if it has been properly maintained it will easily go into the 100K + area. Your questions are some what generic, not saying what year you are looking at, whether you have access to the service history of the car, or whether the engine is making any unusual noises such as tensioner/timing chain.

 

[clmatt]

The vehicle I have is an 05 Cobalt base with 131,000 miles with no maintenance history and seems to be running pretty well, but what I'm more interested in is what people think of the engine and platorm in general.

 

[zora]

i had a 2008 G5, basically the same thing. Traded it in at 114k and at that point the only thing i ever had to do to the engine is replace two camshaft sensors which I was able to do myself. I changed the shocks all around at about 100k because one of the front struts started to leak. Brake pads all around typically last 50k. There are lots of aftermarket and factory parts available to upgrade the suspension, you have an F1 suspension and there is a F3 and a F5. I thought it was a great car for that price level and was disappointed when GM replaced it with the Cruze on the Chevy side with only a 4 door available.