Collant Colour, clunks, and starter motor

[cardi777]

Hi,

Newbie here with some probably obvious questions. I don't expect a definitive answer, as no one reading has seen the car.

Coolant colour:

My car's coolant is red, but when i look in the cap above the radiator, the inside looks orangey with some erosion on the lid and that general area inside. Im not sure if I am looking at rust or something else?

The car drives beautifully, engine is smooth sounding and has never leaked oil or coolant anywhere. The temp never goes past half way, it usually stays at just under half way no matter what the situation is. Its been like this since i got it. It's been serviced as well, no one has pointed out the problem before.

Its a corolla 1999 model

Does this sound like a rust issue? If this is rust, do I have a major problem on my hands? Perhaps a previous owner put water in the coolant? See attached images

Clunks

When the car hasn't been used in a while, it feels like the back breaks get stuck, and I hear a loud giving way clunk noise coming from the back of the car. Does anyone know what this is likely to be? I wonder if its just the brakes sticking to the wheel somehow

Starter motor

When I start the car, the starter motor sometimes makes a loud spinning kind of sound once the car's engine has already started. It sounds similar to the sound you hear if you try to start a car while driving around the block. It seems unavoidable sometimes, no matter how quickly I try to start it. Perhaps it's me turning it on too slowly, but is there something else that it could be

[cardi777]

i somehow made 2 posts when i hit preview? can't figure out how to delete the other one.. or this one!

[Cee-Lo]

First ive heard of coolant looking like that.

Coolant does tend to corrode over time, is that lumpy stuff in the radiator neck and on the cap able to be wiped off? Either way, I would want to flush out the cooling system and put in fresh coolant, diluted with DISTILLED water. Tap water is no good as that has minerals in it that speed up corrosion.

As for the clunk, could be suspension related, maybe a pedders 28point check would be a good port of call? Does the clunk happen under a specific condition, or is it completely random?