Working for a competitive make dealer for so
many years, it kinda pains me to say that one
of the most durable "modern " engines I've seen
is the 2.2 chevy 4 cyl.
We had a customer with a fleet of a good many
2.2 S-10 service trucks, and I can attest that the
people driving them daily didn't give 2 s**** if
they blew up or not. They'd drive until they couldn't.
Usually the major problem was bad radiators,
but I can't comment as to whether it was because
of poor design, or the lack of maintenance the
fleet had before we took over the work.
They usually came in filthy inside and out, and
some of the techs didn't want to deal with them
because the inside of the cab smelled like
they filled them with dirty socks and underwear
every night when they were parked.
Usually just needed P.M. or tires or a radiator
if it had never been replaced
