Do I Really Need a Fan Shroud?
#spacer{clear:left}#abc #sidebar{margin-top:1.5em}if(zs>0){zSB(3,3)}else{gEI(“spacer”).style.display=’none’;gEI(“sidebar”).style.display=’none’} Gary wrote this week with a question about his fan shroud, he wanted to know if he really needed it. The letter sparked visions of cartoon mechanics throwing extra parts over their shoulders as they wrenched on some old jalopy. Then I thought about how many cars I’d worked on that were missing some pretty serious components. The answer to the question is a firm yes. You definitely need a fan shroud if your car was equipped with one. The shroud is that plastic or metal funnel shaped piece on the back of the radiator (usually) that covers the entire fan. It acts as a director for the air used to cool the radiator. Without it air that should be doing an efficient job of cooling your radiator fluid can be working at half efficiency or less. This is especially true if you’re sitting in traffic when your car relies on the fan to draw air through the
