It sounds like you're referring to the S10 and Rangers of the 80's, back when GM had the old 2.8 V6 and Ford had the 2.9 Cologne V6. Neither were very good engines.
My memory is that the big problems were driveline related. I knew a lot of people who destroyed trannys towing boats or going off road. Off road destroyed other things, but I never heard about engine problems. Small sample.