Coolant looks rusty and smells gross

[TLMichelle]

I was looking at the coolant in the radiator of my '94 SC300 and it looks rusty and smells gross... not sweet like anti-freeze. I just bought the car in January of this year, but before that, it hadn't been registered since 2013 so it was probably sitting. Should I be concerned? It seems to run fine because I've been driving it with no problems. The heat works but not the AC. I'm bringing it in to a shop tomorrow morning to have them diagnose and possibly fix the AC, change the oil, patch a tire, and I'm thinking I should probably have them also flush the coolant.

 

The car loses oil over time, though I don't know how fast. I'm not sure where it's going. The car used to smell like it was burning oil until I had the exhaust leaks fixed, but even after that, the oil level still goes down. The color of the oil looks normal, so I don't think there is coolant mixing with oil. The oil wouldn't leak into the coolant, would it?

 

My old car took green coolant, but I'm not sure if this car takes orange coolant? I don't know if that matters or if it is just a preference. I was wondering if the coolant in my SC300 was orange, and dipped the end of a rolled up paper towel into the radiator to see what color would bleed onto it. That is how I made this discovery. The paper towel got brownish staining from the neck of the radiator and I don't even know for sure if it touched the surface of the coolant inside. The level probably isn't low, but it was not up to the top of the neck. I'm not sure what the deal is with the reservoir tank because the small hose connected to the cap is cut off.

 

Any thoughts?

[1990LS400]

Of course flush the coolant - maybe do it now and then again in a few months.  I suggest you use pre-mixed Toyota coolant to make sure you get the right type.

If you don't know the maintenance history, change the brake fluid.   And do a drain and refill of the transmission but don't "flush" it.  And change the rear differential fluid too.