The GM Family I is a straight-four piston engine that was developed by Opel, a former subsidiary of General Motors and now a subsidiary of PSA Group, to replace the Vauxhall OHV, Opel OHV and the smaller capacity Opel CIH engines for use on small to mid-range cars from Opel/Vauxhall. The engine first appeared in the Opel Kadett D in 1979, and shortly afterwards in its Vauxhall badged sister – the Vauxhall Astra Mk.1 in 1980. Despite this, the previous Opel OHV engine continued to be sold in entry level versions of the Opel Kadett/Astra and Corsa throughout the 1980s.

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Quick Facts Family 1, Overview ...

Family 1
The initial version (13S) of the Family I engine fitted to a 1980 Opel Kadett D
Overview
Manufacturer	General Motors
Also called	E-TEC Family I Small-block
Production	1979–present[1]
Layout
Configuration	Straight-four
Cylinder block material	Cast iron
Cylinder head material	Aluminium
Combustion
Fuel type	Gasoline CNG Ethanol
Oil system	Wet sump
Cooling system	Water-cooled
Chronology
Predecessor	Vauxhall OHV Opel OHV Opel CIH
Successor	Family 0 (1.0 – 1.4 L) Medium Gasoline Engine (1.6 – 1.8 L)

Close

The Family I is informally known as the "small block", since it shares its basic design and architecture with the larger Family II unit (correspondingly known as the "large block"), which covers the mid range and higher engine capacities up to 2400cc.

Originally produced at the Aspern engine plant, production was moved to the Szentgotthárd engine plant in Hungary^[2] with the introduction of the DOHC version. GM do Brasil at São José dos Campos,^[3] GMDAT at Bupyeong and GM North America at Toluca also build these engines. The Family II units, by contrast were manufactured by Holden in Australia.

The Family 1 engines are inline-four cylinder engines with belt-driven single or double overhead camshafts in an aluminum cylinder head with a cast iron engine block. GM do Brasil versions were also capable of running on ethanol. These engines share their basic design with the larger Family II engine – for this reason some consider the Family I and Family II to be the same series and instead use the terms 'small block' and 'large block' to distinguish between the two. Over the years there has been overlap between the two types as the smallest capacities of the Family II have also been manufactured with larger capacity versions of the Family I block.

Early build versions of the engine gained a notorious reputation for camshaft and follower failure – this was largely due to a special lubricant being used in the engine during the running in period, which would be changed for conventional oil at the first service. Many owners (familiar with the servicing requirements of the older overhead valve units that the Family I/II replaced) would often exacerbate the problem by changing the oil themselves within the running in period. Opel solved the problem by improving the metallurgy of the camshaft and followers, and changing the lubrication specification. Another issue (also common to the Family II),revolved around the water pump, which sits in an eccentric shaped housing and doubles as the timing belt tensioner. If poor quality antifreeze (or if no antifreeze was used), corrosion would jam the water pump in its housing making it impossible to tension the belt. Later versions of the engine incorporate a separate tensioning/jockey pulley for tensioning the belt.

GM do Brasil specializes in SOHC, petrol-powered and FlexPower (powered with ethanol and/or petrol, mixed in any percentage) engines. GM Brasil also made 16-valve versions of the 1.0 engine. The 1.0 L 16v was available in the Corsa line-up from 1999 to 2001.

the first versions of the Family I appeared in the Opel Kadett D in 1979, and the corresponding Vauxhall Astra Mk.1 in the spring of 1980.

The SPE / 4 or (Smart Performance Economy 4 cylinders) engines are an evolution of the Econo.Flex engines that were made in Brazil at the Joinville plant. There are two available displacements: 1.0 L and 1.4 L. They feature an SOHC head with 2-valves per cylinder, and is fed by a multi-point fuel injection system, which allows it to run on either E100 (pure ethanol) or E25 gasoline (standard in Brazil). Major differences between previous engines include reduced friction, lowered weight, individual coil-near-plug ignition, and a new cylinder head design.

Daewoo Motors licensed and produced a variant of the Family 1 engine. These engines were built exclusively at Bupyeong engine plant and marketed as E-TEC. Like all Family 1 engines they feature a toothed belt driven valvetrain, a cast-iron engine block and an aluminum cylinder head. Most models feature Euro III-compliancy, and the 1.4 L (1399 cc) and 1.6 L (1598cc) versions employ variable intake geometry. With the release of Chevrolet Cruze, the factory has been converted to produce the Ecotec Family 1 Gen III block.

The new Generation III or Gen III engine entered production in Spring 2005. These engines replaced both the previous generation Ecotec engines as well as Daewoo's E-TEC 16V engines. These engines are manufactured at Szentgotthárd, Hungary, Bupyeoung, Korea, Toluca, Mexico and Yantai, PRC (SGM).

In contrast to their predecessors, the Gen III engines feature lighter cast-iron blocks, as well as higher compression ratios. These engines also implement DCVCP (Double Continuous Variable Cam Phasing technology, a variant of VVT), piston cooling by oil jets, and an integrated catalytic converter. Non-turbocharged variants feature the TwinPort (Variable-length intake manifold) technology. Reliability improvements include a wider camshaft drive belt, and a water pump no longer driven by it.

The LDE engine meets Euro VI and KULEV emission standards. With the addition of secondary air injection to the LUW engine, the LWE achieves PZEV status.

These engines, like their DOHC predecessors, feature bucket tappets in contrast to the roller finger followers found on GM's other 4-cylinder engines.

Applications:

• 2005–2008 Opel Vectra (Z18XER)
• 2007–2008 Opel Signum (Z18XER)
• 2005–2019 Opel Zafira
• 2005–2012 Opel Astra
• 2008–2016 Chevrolet Cruze (1.8L LUW/2H0/LDE/LWE)
• 2009–2017 Opel Insignia
• 2009–2014 Chevrolet Aveo (1.6L in Europe, 1.6L LXV)
• 2012–2018 Chevrolet Sonic (1.8L LUW/LWE in North America)
• 2011–2015 Chevrolet Orlando (1.8L 2H0)
• 2007–2009 Holden Astra (AH)
• 2012–2013 Baojun 630
• Alfa Romeo 159
• 2005–2011 Fiat Croma
• 2012–2018 Opel Mokka

Turbocharged Gen III engines are used in:

• 2006–2009 Opel Meriva (OPC Model)
• 2007–2018 Opel Corsa (GSi and OPC Models)
• 2008–2012 Opel Insignia
• 2010–2015 Buick Excelle GT
• 2010–2015 Buick Excelle XT
• 2011–2012 Saab 9-5
• 2007–2012 Opel Astra
• 2012–2017 Buick Verano (1.6 Turbo)
• 2012–2020 Chevrolet Sonic (LT, LTZ Models)
• 2011–2020 Chevrolet Cruze (China, North America) and Holden Cruze (Australasia)
• 2016–present Chevrolet Malibu