Besides a leakdown test (which I don't have the right tools for) is there any other easy way to tell if a head gasket is blown?

Here's the history:

I was driving home the other night when my check guages light came on. The temp guage was pegged at 260*. I pulled right over, and let it idle for a minute, when the guage didn't budge downward, I shut it down. There was NO heat coming from the vents, just cold air. I popped the hood, and there was nothing leaking, and the surge tank was full, so I restarted the car thinking it might just be the guage. It went right back to just under 260. I shut it down and have not started it since. I could not smell coolant, and I honestly could not tell if there was any white smoke...it was dark, cold, and pouring rain.

I took off the oil filler cap and there was a little water on the inside with some of that awful white mayonaise sludge around the filler tube. I immediately assumed a bad head gasket. (But...the car had not been driven in 4 days, and it had been below freezing...I've seen more emulsified condensation on my cap last winter than I did today)

I got home and drained the oil, and it came up looking like...oil, not chocolate milkshake. Antifreeze was a little cloudy with a film on it, but I can't tell if it's because I drained it into a pan that had a little oil in it.

I managed to get 6 plugs out quickly...all were dry, with a normal brownish white tint to them.

I'm thinking a blown HG, but time is at a premium, and I don't want to tear the motor apart if I don't have to.

PS. I did recently pull the water pump off...I bled the system well, and had been running at normal temps afterward for about 3 or 4 weeks before this.

Sorry for the length.

Any Ideas?

 

If you see white puffs of smoke that smell sweet coming out of the exhaust intermittent or constant, and if the oil sits and seperates or comes out looking like chocolate milk then you have a blown headgasket. Deposits on the underside of the oil filler cap won't tell you much. I know it will be hard to tell if the white smoke coming out of the exhaust is from a BHG or not in winter, but pay close attention.