I have a question... there are two fans located in the engine of my car just in front of the radiator. Is there a difference between the two? Do they both cool the radiator? Does one serve a different purpose than the other? I need to replace the fan located next to the battery (the left, or passenger side). This fan is plastic. The other one is metal. What should I ask for in the parts store?

The difference in the fans is one is used by the computer to cool the engine when the engine warms up and the other on is used to add cooling only when the air conditioning is turned on. The easiest thing to do is to take the fan in with you to the part store and match it up before you pay for it.