iif it its the HG, change the oil and see if there's coolant in the oil, otherwise it might just be rust or sediment.
I'll do that soon, I just changed the oil right before the whole radiator incident and it didn't look bad from what I remember. I guess for peace of mind I'll do it again once I'm done with the manifold gasket.
how long ago did they do the coolant?
Less than a week ago. This is why I'm concerned. The car overheated when the radiator seams split.
I see no evidence of the tell-tale milk shake that occurs when you get oil in the coolant. Looks to me like the shop used water straight out of the hose, not distilled water, and used very little coolant, if any. If I were you, I would drain as much out as I could and then refill with mostly fresh coolant, run that for a week and then drain and fill with the proper 50/50 mix. That reddish looking color could be rust or even, pink, GM style coolant.
I just called the shop because I was concerned about it and the guy I spoke to on the phone assured me that the color I described orange-brown is the color of the universal coolant they use. Once my dad gets home Im probably going to have him drive me over there so I can see this universal coolant for myself. I only let the shop do it because my dad wanted me to have someone to goto if anything broke afterwards. I definitely feel like I could have done more to the car for less than I paid them.
the universal coolant is orange, i think prestone makes it. right on the bottle it says any make and model, ive used it before. if that gives you piece of mind. i dont really see any oil in the coolant, usually its a different color and you can tell teh different fluids. I dont think its the HG. I could be wrong but it doesnt look like it from the picture.
get that s*** out of your radiator now. unless its ethylene glycol based, it should NOT be in your radiator and coolant passages. ask miguel about his block for more details.looks like prestone and rust. i hope they put OEM coolant in when they changed it...