Replaced intake manifold gasket, now theres crap in the coolant

so everything appears to work 100%, the car runs great, but i looked at the coolant, and its very dark with little bits of crud floating around. i had to put about another bottle of coolant in the motor after i replaced the intake gasket. so you'd think the coolant would look newer then it already does. is there any chance this is oil in the coolant? how would i tell? also if oil is in the coolant, doesn't that mean coolant would be in the oil? is there a way to test that? i changed the oil after i did the gasket but that all i've done. should this be happening after a fresh intake gasket job? or did i screw something up

any help is appreciated

Yes, your system is full of crap. Lots of places in the cooling system for oil to hide. Get it out of the cooling system. Better yet, completely flush out the system and replace the "death-cool" with the green stuff or go with the new prestone long-life. After you drain the system, disconnect some of the bigger hoses and check inside them for splitting/degredation of any sort. Easier and cheaper to replace those now than when they blow (and coat your engine/paint with antifreeze). Also completely disconnect the overflow tank and flush it out until it sparkles. It's your first indicator of cooling system health:naughty:

If there was coolant in the oil, you would have a milky white substance on the dipstick, but you should have changed out the oil/filter anyway. Coolant in the oil=engine damage/death.

Keep a close eye on the temp guage for awile, and periodically check the level in the coolant tank.

Cheers

That crud looking stuff could also be from your transmission. I had trans fluid leaking in the coolant, and coolant leaking into my transmission.

If you used copper coat sealant you will notice copper colored sealant in the coolant from where you sprayed. Otherwise dirt from doing the job clean and flush.