early this year i pulled the shroud when i changed my radiator. i left it off knowing i would do the water pump later,which i did a few months ago.
i never did put the shroud back, not in the mood to pull the top hose and mess with antifreez again.
no change in temp, no overheating even at idle on HOT days sitting still for a while cooling off with air when i take a cool break.
so is the shroud mainly a :finger protector"? !!

oh im also lazy and left the skid plates off. makes oil changes a breeze. i off road in my back field!! only.

 

You would have to put an extended heavy load on the system to see that it does help pull air through the radiator more efficiently. Like pulling a trailer in hot humid temps for many miles.

In what you described, I would not expect much change, maybe a couple degrees + but that is not going to mean much.

The shroud does do a good job of keeping hands away from the fan though.

Back in the day, GM cars had a weather strip like foam tape all the way around the shroud to form a seal to the edge of the radiator to help force air to be sucked through the radiator instead of sneaking in around the outside. Over the years shade tree & back yard mechanics would tinker around and end up pulling that off or destroying most of it. Didn't mean much on small block non AC cars, but when you did that to big block vettes or muscle with A/C, that little stripping was like 10 degrees all the time, more under load with the A/C on. Of course those cars had no computer to take measures to offset heat, like dialing back spark and valve timing, it was all mechanically fixed.

 

yeah,thanks, ill get some ambition when it cools a little. maybe i can pull some water out with a baster so i dont get the mess i hate!!
i also struggle with that thing, never quite sure how it clips in till it happens.'oh well at least this post kept the forum alive after ? 30 hours of... silence!!