The headgasket 'repair' on my '89 Suby GL Coupe seems to be OK. I haven't had a good look (since it won't stop SNOWING!) but the next day we get where there's more than 5 minutes of sunshine I have to change the oil, so I'll take a good look at the area where the coolant was weeping from the headgasket. Other than that, the car seems to be running nicely.
After doing the 'repair' I noticed a new noise from the car, and a guy from AutoZone surmized the gasket repai may have gotten into the water pump bearing and is causing a problem. It was a bearing, alright, but it was the A/C Idler pully bearing that seized! Of course, in the middle of the night in East Overshoe. I put up with the smell until the belt wore down enough to stop cooking, then cut it off the next day. (It's the A/C belt, and is redundant to the fan and PS pump, but doesn't affect the alternator.)
So, the question is HOW MUCH DRAG CAN AN IDLER PUT ON AN ENGINE?!?!?!?! Holy Cow! After I cut the belt off, it was like driving a different car. The acceleration is back, the car runs great, and the gas mileage went up, even though I used AWD most of the night last night. Previously I was getting 26 MPG on a warmer day, no AWD, and 19-21 MPG in the cold with the AWD on. Last night I got 25 MPG using the AWD almost all night.