Antec 902 top fan failure...need advice on what to do.

[Heliocentrical]

So, the big fan at the top of my 902 v3 failed a few months ago...right before the warranty expired naturally. I contacted Antec and was promised a new fan which never came. I was told in follow up emails to customer service that I would indeed receive a replacement and that it just took a long time for warranty replacements to be fulfilled. I was also told that there was no ticket number I could use to follow up to check on the status of my replacement.

Oh well, end of rant.

My question now is this: Should I leave the fan as is or should I remove it? Any benefit to removing it and maybe covering the area where the fan was mounted? Would that improve air flow through the case?

Thanks for your suggestions in advance!