The fan hit the shroud yesterday, not pretty, but could have been MUCH worse.
Not 100% sure what caused it to happen, but leaning towards a failure of the clutch, allowing the fan to creep forward and hit the shroud. In turn shearing off one of the mounting bolts on the clutch, which then broke the fan.
There is a really nice hole, close to 1 inch by 3 inches, in the bottom of my 'less than 1 year old' shroud, that you can't see unless you really stick your head down in the compartment. I have a plan to remedy that, but it's the fan and clutch that are a bit more involved.

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I figure I'm going with a Hayden 2747 clutch, but not sure as to what fan I need.
It looks like a Hayden 3619 is the right fan, but I need to be sure before ordering.
Can anyone confirm that the 3619 is the correct replacement?

 

Bueller, Bueller....... <tap, tap, tap> Check 1, 2..... Check 1, 2....

 

I cant help with part numbers but I suspect the fan broke first then the shroud was damaged. I doubt the fan clutch failed but I am just guessing.

 

When I first heard the fan hitting the shroud, I pulled over to check things out. The fan was still intact, there was a small 'wobble' in the whole assembly, but not much, and I wasn't sure if that was normal.
Due to the fact I was a ways from home, I flexed the offending blade for more clearance, then continued on our way home.
5 miles later, we heard the sound of the shroud being chopped up. I pulled over to check it out again, and the fan was still intact, but there was more 'wobble' in the clutch than before.
We limped home being careful not to exceed 2300 rpms, as anything more created all kinds of sounds, until.....
.....I had to climb a small off camber turn, and needed more rpms to get up it. Thats when we heard the 'bang', and the noise went away.
Thinking it was the last chunk of shroud letting go, and it was getting towards dusk, we just wanted to get home.
So onward we went.
Looking back, I should have called the hook, but we were only 3 miles from home.
Got home, popped the hood, and the pic is what I saw.
When I pulled the clutch off, it had over 1/2 inch of front to back play, and makes a grinding sound when it is spun by hand. Not sure if it is due to the fan hitting the shroud, or if the play caused the fan to hit. Either way, tho' I'm lucky it didn't go thru the radiator, or worse yet my hood.

I've done a little research, it seems as though the previous owner installed a 19.5 inch fan, where it should have been a 19.
That would explain the trouble my father and I had installing the shroud last year. We had to trim off the lower portion of the shroud that rests against the radiator in order to get clearance for the fan.
I had almost 3/4 of an inch clearance between the fan and the bottom of the shroud, and I had no problems with anything over the 1500 miles I put on the car after the engine rebuild last year.

So, now I know I need a 19 inch fan, I'm just not sure which one.

 

You can see lots of fans on ebay and clutches too by Imperial or Hayden with application usewd. Part numbers can be found at www.wildaboutcars.com and its free to join.