Upgrading the Vanagon Windshield Squirters

Upgrading Your Vanagon Washer Nozzles

Many of us adventure seeking drives end up on dusty dirt roads, misty and rainy highways, or bug infested interstates.  The windshield takes a pretty good smudging on a well used Transporter.  The OEM nozzles work but many drivers prefer a better option and want to upgrade for safety and convenience.

Upgrading the nozzles isn’t a lot of money or work and the rewards are well worth it.  By ordering a few small pieces you will have a much clearer and cleaner view from the seat of the van.  The parts you need are readily available online or at a local automobile dealer if you have one near you.

Nozzles from the Suzuki Sx4 work perfectly.  The part number is 38480-56K00 and you can order them online from Amazon or other vendors or get them from the Suzuki dealership.  They are about $5 each from most vendors.  The check valve Y splitter is available from Pelican Parts and costs about $5 to your door.  Not a bad price for the return in viewing the oncoming world from a clean windshield.

Replacing the nozzles themselves is the easiest and biggest enhancement your wiper system.  Nozzles control the water direction, amount, and whether or not they squirt or spray.  A second small part that is available is a Y splitter check valve.  This check valve keeps fluid from draining back out of the lines, thus keeping fluid always at the ready for an instants use.  On some backroads and unmaintained trails just an instant can make a big difference in driving enjoyment.

The first step after to get your parts together is to remove the original washer nozzle sprayers.  Gently twist them at about a 15-degree angle and pull them out gently.  You don’t want to yank them out and lose the tubing underneath the dash.  While this isn’t the end of the world it will surely put a damper on the fun trying to fish the tubing back out the hole.

Using a pair of locking forceps to grab the tubing before twisting off the old one will help a lot but they aren’t necessary if you have your new nozzles ready.  Twist off the old nozzle from the tubing and push on the new nozzle.  Stick the new nozzle back into the hole and go to the other side and repeat.

If you want to take it a step further and install the Y splitter you will find the Y underneath the dash.  Using a flashlight look under the dash and carefully remove the tubing and replace the splitter.  The new check valve splitter is designed to not allow the windshield washer fluid from draining back into the tank.  Your fluid will be ready in an instant instead of hearing the motor and waiting for the cleaner fluid to spray the glass.

It should take no more than 20 minutes to replace the nozzles and Y-splitter if all goes well.  Like any other project you do on your Transporter, take your time and exercise patience as well as forethought.  These little projects really add more enjoyment to your trips and you should enjoy performing these great little mods to your van.