Then it occurred to me that perhaps they mounted on the edge of the radiator itself. There seems to be a place where the plastic part could mount and leave the rubbery fin reaching out to seal to the fan housing.
So I don't know if this is correct, but I tried a test fit to visualize my theory...
Wherever they go, they clearly were/are not reusable so I simply put the fan housing back in and reconnected everything. It is difficult to see anything AFTER you put things back together, but I did have a little angle to view down beside the washer fluid and ABS brake distributor. There clearly is a gap now between the housing the the edge of the radiator... as indicated by the arrow.
I would appreciate it if some of you, who have NOT experienced this fan issue would check and maybe take a picture of a similar visual in your car to verify what the side seals are supposed to look like. I would think you will not be able to see the radiator edge as you can in the picture above.
I plan to take the two destructed pieces to my local dealer on Monday morning and get or order (under warranty) replacement parts. I think I probably can install them myself, but to maintain warranty considerations I probably will schedule a time when they can install them... with another dozen donuts of course!
Ok... I'm done. Comments?