odd colored sludge in oil

my moms 1991 limited has not been driven much all of it's life, she bought it in 1993, and since then it has made short, short trips... basically around the block to work. the jeep has 126,xxx on the clock on the original motor & trans. I drove it on about a 400 mile round trip, i had changed the oil & filter before i left, it used about a half-quart of oil during the trip. it's been about a week since i got back, and i checked the oil level again, it was a little dark but "safe" but there was an odd reddish sludge on the tip (the color of a cooked hot dog :eeks1: ). The jeep never got "hot" during the drive(under 210 degrees), i don't think it's coolent caused rust... any ideas???

when a vehicle is only run on short trips the block will build up condensation inside from the heat then cooling off. if the oil doesnt get changed every three months but when the engine actually reaches three or five thousand miles (whenever you choose) then the water that is built up in the block will start to cause rust. more than likely you saw rust on the end of the dipstick since water is heavier than oil your dipstick was barely submerged in the water causing the rust. i wouldnt worry about it i would either just drive the vehicle more or change the oil every three months even if the vehicle only has 1000 miles on the oil change.

It could just be in the dipstick tube, condensation mixed with dirt/oil can make rusty sludge stuff in the tube and when you push the stick it scrapes the inside of the tube and get the crap on it. now it also could be something else, I say change the oil again and see what the oil looks like after you drain it.
Now if the oil looks normal then its prolly just a rusty dipstick tube.but if the drained oil has this reddish crap in a obvious amount then you will need to look further. but I will bet at this point its the rusty tube