Is it common for my '07 Eiger to smoke out the radiator and also have a smell like burning plastic? I know my wife probably got a little mud and water on the radiator over the weekend but should it smell like the burning plastic while it smokes? I sprayed the radiator really good with my hose when I got it home and it still smokes and smells. Any ideas?

 

It's an oil cooler. It will get hot, sounds like you may have something clogged inside the fins. It can be hard to clean out as too much water pressure or too close with a hose will bend the fins, trapping any debris inside. Try a more careful clean-out until water runs through it and stays clear. You may have to remove the oil cooler to clean and inspect it.

 

Thanks Jaybee but would it smell so much like that burning plastic? It had that strong odor. I did take my garden hose and I thought I really sprayed it out good. And it wasn't so much like we hit a lot of mud just dirty water holes.

 

Things to check:

1. If there is some kind of plastic debris caught inside the oil cooler, then it would smell like plastic. Maybe other crud may smell the same way too. Since you can see smoke coming from the oil cooler, you should have a location on the cooler to look closer.

2. Really simple, but any chance that you are low on oil and thus, running hot? That could explain both the smoke and the plastic smell.

 

I checked the oil and that is good. It seems like the whole oil cooler smokes - not just one area. It starts good and it ran just fine when we had it out. I wonder if I just have to run more water through it.

 

An oil cooler is pretty basic - either there is an external problem with clogged fins or some combustionable material clogged inside the fins or it has an internal clog that keeps oil from circulating through it. It's very easy for the cooling fins to get bent - even a stream of water can bend them over. I'm wondering if too many of the fins are bent over it that would cause the oil cooler to heat up and make the smoke that you see. You should be able to see through the oil cooler, if not then it's either gclogged or the fins are bent.

Have you noticed your cooling fan coming on often?

 

I lookes at the fins and they are not bent over. I also didn't think the fan came on very often but than again my wife was driving it and when I asked her she wasn't sure. I can't imagine it staying clogged when I flushed it out like it did.

 

could the cooler be leaking oil?

 

Can you blow water from the back to the front, to backflush it?
Just in case you have something stuck in it.

 

Check your right front inner fender and make sure it has not melted from the exhaust pipe. Mine did this within the first couple months after I bought it new. Suzuki replaced with new inner fender. I watched it closely and caught it as soon as the new started to melt, so I took it off and put my own heat sheild on the inner fender and no problems since.