auxillary electric fan kicked the bucket-options?

[RG5384]

well the fun never seems to stop with this car, this is my latest ordeal. Yesterday while driving around town, the temp got up to about 90c, and i thought "i should hear the electric fan by now"(it had been making alot of noise, clunks etc for a while, i'ts been on the way out) so i pulled over, and sure enough, the fuse had blown. I put a new one in, heard it roar to life, and proceeded. Then today, the same deal, sitting at a traffic light, and with the a/c on the fan should be on. Nothing. checked the fuse, it was blown again. This time i got smart and decided to take a look at the fan, and sure enough, and one point in it's revolution i can barely move it with my hand!! These fans are really expensive, so i'm looking at alternatives. I know pepboys, autozone etc sell electric fans, and i even found a dual one for like 50 bucks. Could i retrofit a dual electric fan onto the front and have it work just as well as the original? What about used fans? is there any way to test them before you buy another bad one like yours? thanks for your help
Ryan