Subject: Subject: Upgrading front & rear window washers
Nigel
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posted on February 23rd, 2006 at 12:26 AM
Subject: Upgrading front & rear window washers
UPGRADING THE FRONT & REAR WINDOW WASHERS OF 1968~79 VOLKSWAGEN KOMBIS AND OTHER MODELS
by Nigel A. Skeet
Having only two, body-mounted, adjustable water-jets, the VW Type 2's front windscreen washer system, is barely adequate, even when the jets are
properly adjusted and the reservoir fully pressurised. Water distribution over the glass surface is very limited and is sensitive to road speed and
cross winds. The situation can be marginally improved, by retro-fitting additional water-jets, of the same or similar pattern, as I initially did on
my Triumph Toledo, in the early 1980s.
For the washer system to be fully effective, it must deliver water to the glass surface, as uniformly as possible, ahead of the advancing wiper blade;
implying that the water-jets or equivalent components, should be wiper-mounted, to most easily track the position of the wiper blade, which can be
implemented in a variety of ways. This philosophy has now been adopted, on several modern cars and commercial vehicles, for both front & rear window
washer systems.
One method, of which I have had personal experience, with my 1973 VW Type 2 and 1974 Triumph Toledo, is the substitution of Swedish made, SWW
wash/wiper blades, which feature a perforated, hollow blade rubber, supplied by a small-bore, flexible rubber hose, through which water is delivered
to the windscreen, at intervals along the blade's leading edge. These wash/wiper blades are extremely effective, even when the VW's reservoir is
only partially pressurised and use far less water than the conventional washers, which is particularly advantageous on long journeys, during damp
weather, when a lot of washer water is used and reservoir pressure diminishes.
Originally, in 1985/86, I removed the two standard VW Type 2 washer-nozzle housings; routing the flexible rubber hoses through the vacated cruciform
holes, with modified & hole-punched, circular blanking grommets. The flexible rubber hose, is secured neatly to the wiper arms, using small,
self-adhesive, one-piece, semi-rigid, nylon cable clips (stock No. VK41); obtainable in packs of twenty, from local branches of Maplin Electronics.
Since then, I have revised the installation, drilling circular holes on the opposite sides of the wiper spindles and lower down, about 22½ mm above
the bottom of the moulded bodywork bulge, beneath the windscreen.
Availability of SWW wash/wiper blades in the United Kingdom, seems to be extremely limited, but they can be purchased by mail-order, direct from the
manufacturer, SW Washwiper AB. One can purchase either a complete kit (comprising a pair of wash/wiper blades, various wiper-arm adapters, T-piece,
rubber hose & grommets, etc.) or a pair of replacement blade-rubbers. Although the Internet website, is solely in Swedish, most Swedes, speak, read
and write English, reasonably well.
SW Washwiper AB, Idalavägen 1, S 182 74 - Stocksund, Sweden.
Tel. (International) +46 8-85 85 22
Fax. (International) +46 8-85 41 84
Internet website: http://hem.passagen.se.zelus/ (in Swedish only)
Since fitting the SWW wash/wiper blades, I have learned of other washer systems. Also available in Sweden, at car accessory shops, is an accessory kit
(VDO part No. V1018 – cost 77 Swedish Kroner in 1990) comprising a wiper-arm mounted, SWF washer jet fitting, with four adjustable ball nozzles,
together with a right-angled, bulkhead hose connector, length of flexible rubber hose and three flexible-hose retaining clips, to fasten the hose to
the wiper arm. They were then not available in Great Britain, but were purchased for me in 1990, by my Swedish university-friend Kjell, at his local
car accessory shop in Södertälje. At that time they were imported into Sweden, by K. G. Knuttson AB.
K. G. Knuttson AB, Hammerbacken 8, S 19181 - Sölentuna, Sweden.
Tel. (International) +46 08-923000
email: info@kgk.se
I have seen, a mid-1990s MAN B-163 truck (P-prefix, registration number plate) and a 2005 MAN LE8.150 truck (05 registration plate), each with three
front windscreen wipers, equipped with a virtually identical washer system; albeit with a single, 75 mm long, one-piece, flexible-hose retaining clip,
on each wiper arm.
Pairs of washer jet fittings, right-angled, bulkhead hose connectors and flexible rubber hose, which appear very similar to those on the MAN trucks
and in the aforementioned accessory kit (albeit with only two rather than four adjustable ball nozzles), seem to be standard equipment, for the
front-windscreen washer system, of 2002 onward, Nissan Cabstar pick-up truck models (pre-2002 models, have bodywork mounted jets), as shown in the
photographs.
I have also seen on the modern Mercedes Vito vans, having a single top-hinged rear hatch, a factory-fitted rear-window washer system, which utilises a
wiper-arm mounted, SWF washer jet fitting, with four adjustable ball nozzles, identical to that found in the aforementioned VDO accessory kit; the
flexible rubber hose for which, is fastened to the rear-wiper arm, by means of a 90 mm long, one-piece retaining clip.
A variety of wiper-arm mounted, front and/or rear, washer-jet fittings, with multiple adjustable ball nozzles, are becoming an increasingly common,
standard fitment, on modern, small commercial vehicles, further examples of which, I have seen on a 2001/02 Mitsubishi Canter and a 2003 Isuzu NKR
pickup truck. The Mitsubishi vehicle, featured several reuseable plastic clips, of very neat pattern, used to secure the flexible rubber washer
hose, to the 9 mm wiper arms.
A product which probably has a similar performance, to that of the clip-on SWF unit, is the WX2 twin-bladed wiper (made in various sizes), with
integral washer jets between the blades; known to be available by mail-order in 1995, from Ripspeed International, in London. One intriguing standard,
windscreen washer system I encountered, is that fitted to the single, front windscreen wiper, of the Citroën BX. This comprises a long, semi-rigid,
perforated plastic J-tube, clipped to the 9 mm wiper arm, supplied by a flexible rubber tube which connects to a nipple on the end of the hollow wiper
spindle. A similar perforated-tube-based system, is also used for the front-windscreen washers, of modern Renault and Mercedes Vito vans.
An aftermarket wash/wiper arm with clipon, perforated plastic J-tube, similar to that of the Citroën BX, is available as an accessory, forming part
of the Storm single wiper kits, which can be purchased from retailers such as Demon Tweeks (2004 catalogue, page 204) and Mono Wiper. Whether the
plastic Jtube and mounting clips are available separately, is not specified.
