I'd remove the fan and the shroud and go for a drive. Just don't spend too long idling.

 

There aresome misconceptions here. Radiator size is only one factor in operating temps. There are other things that can cause overheating.

The tranny cooler is not a problem. It is common to run a trans cooler, and an AC condenser in front of a radiator.

An electric fan of this style is intended to sit against the radiator. Thats why it has the shroud built around the outside of the fan, that shroud has to sit flush against the radiator, or against the shroud, or it doesn't work.

 

Yes my radiator/fan size comments are generalizations. There is certainly much more to it.

That tranny cooler/fan is blocking air flow to the radiator as well as introducing hot air to the core. I suggested moving it to the side to side to see if it runs any cooler. Yes there are items in front of the radiator on most cars. My car has a large 4" intercooler as well as 2 tranny coolers in front of it. The only reason I have them mounted there is space/convenience.

The fan does not have to sit directly on the radiator. If it was mounted that way it would only draw air from that area. Shrouds are used to let the fan draw air from a larger area, working better. For a shroud to work properly it should be sealed to the radiator and be a minimum certain thickness to flow properly.

 

So your arguing that a fan, with a built in shroud, needs a shroud. And yes the shroud DOES have to sit directly against the radiator, otherwise it isn't a shroud.

I don't think you understand the purpose of a shroud, nor how it works. It is real common to direct mount this style of fan to a radiator. Look at his space constraint, if he needs to use this fan he doesn't have room to run an offset shroud. A shrouds only purpose is to force the fan to pull through the restriction rather than the just moving air through the edges. Yes it is optimal to pull across the entire radiator, but that isn't required. It seems like you want him to buy more parts, and completely redo his cooling system, there is a good chance he doesn't need to spend that much time, or money. It may be all he needs to do is remove the blockage from the radiator.

I run one of these types of fans, directly against the radiator in my CJ, it makes around 400hp through a N/A 351, it has a stock grille opening, it lives in Moab, it functions fine in 114° heat, even when rock crawling. It has a trans cooler for the c4, with a fan in front of it. Functions fine bombing down the highway at 70 as well. The only shroud on it is the one built into the fan. It is fine, it has never over heated.

 

BEN, my guess is that your wording is confusing some. I thought the same when I first read your post. You want the shroud tight against the radiator, not the fan itself, they're two different parts.

 

You are correct. I should have said fan assembly.

 

I understood what you meant the whole time (which is what truly matters as this is my thread, correct?). Just, due to my work schedule I have not yet been able to work on my car. Hoping by Saturday that I can get the fan mounted to the radiator w/o the ("secondary") shroud, although ambient temperatures are beginning to drop, which may skew test results.