It could have failed if he drove it hard, and he probally did. A good mechanic will hot rod the hell out of a engine that he did major work to to make sure that it will hold up.
I know a diesel mechanic who after he rebuilds a engine, starts it, waits for oil PSI and then puts a brick on the throttle, runs it to the governor for 15 minutes then shuts it down and sends it out the door.

 

spike, thanks for the insight. i have not been able to pick the truck up but will do it in the morning. i asked my mechanic to drive it as much as possible (to lunch, to get parts and home if he wanted). he drove it home last night and said it ran like a champ.

 

Glad to hear that its fixed. I cant wait for you to get your truck back.
How much did it wind up costing you?

 

i am hoping thats the fix and it will run strong.

not sure on the final tab but he said ballpark $1500 (with valves) last week before he did the work.

 

got the truck back this morning. runs smooth even though he said the idle was a bit rough...i don't feel it. she was happy to have a new lease on life! the bill ended up being $1789.00. he said he put in new spark plugs which put it a bit over the figure i had been told. he and jake at british 4x4 here in jacksonville are good guys that know their LR's.

 

Glad to here that you have your girl home and that you both are happy.

 

Been following this thread and am really glad for you that it ended up being much lesser than what was thought in the first place. I so however have the impression that if it wasn't for the fact that you came here to ask questions and went back to the guy with suggestions, you would be facing a new engine right now!!!! I find that he was rather quick on the diagnostic, or am I alone to think that ???

 

Well a new engine would ave fixed it.

 

i agree with you on both comments. i totally credit joining this forum with giving me the info needed to push for tearing off the heads. i also agree he was quick to say i needed a new motor. that being said, that was based on how many times he'd seen those symptoms only remedied by a new motor. i wouldn't knock james for it as perhaps it could have just as easily gone the other way...that was a risk i was willing to take though and glad i did.

 

Oh, not knocking anyone, just sharing my impressions. Spike, you're right that a new motor would have fixed it, but that route was not the cheapest nor the most logicalone.