I bought a truck from Arizona that had been in storage for several years and they aparently didn’t put any coolant or antifreeze in it because the fluid was so nasty, rusty... It had been changed because it had a new radiator, hoses, water pump, and I checked the specific gravity... it was good to -35 but it looked like tomato juice from the iron oxide in it. I’ve flushed it several times till it runs clear, but it turned red again... point is, even if you are in a warm climate, you need corrosion protection. Also, the antifreeze turns acidic after time and can damage gaskets, castings, etc. that’s why it’s recommended to change it every few years... I’m not one that follows that rule very well. I do test it periodically. When I worked at a radiator shop in high school, I learned that grounding your engine well and isolating the radiator from ground is important because electrolysis can deteriorate the radiator as the electric can flow through the coolant to ground via the radiator. The thing is, some manufactures don’t isolate the radiators, but ground the motor in several places. I agree that everything has become too complicated now days with application specific fluids, etc...
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