Radiator Fan Clutch Fins - Can you cut them off?

[Murphster05]

Hello,

I have a crawler cherokee that has seen some miles. Recently had the fan kiss the radiator again and am about to be on number three. Looking at the awesome circle left in my radiator, I can see that 100% of the contact is from the stupid little "nubs" on the end of the fan clutch. Is it OK to just hit these with a cutoff wheel and shorten the fan clutch by that 1/16"? I found that my bottom rad support is cracked, so that certainly isn't helping anything, but I am not convinced that welding up the little crack is going to solve the problem 100%.

Has anyone else had this problem and come up with a better solution?

[rhandwor]

I would repair the radiator support and then recheck it shouldn't be rubbing if installed properly.