Window washer and wiper blade failure

[JGEM]

Had a bit of hassle on a long road trip recently.

I used the window washers on the front windscreen but no water came out.
Also, the friction of the wiper blade on the dry dirty windscreen caused the passengers wiper blade to tear and it was juddering on the windscreen with a flapping tail of ripped rubber hanging off

I was hundreds of kilometres from home with no shops who would sell replacement wiper blades anywhere nearby and it was starting to rain.

Luckily it was a brief rain shower and I was able to do the remaining 3 hours of driving without needing to use wipers

When I got back to Christchurch I investigated what went wrong.

The window washers use valves underneath each outlet. On a RHD car like mine the drivers side has a 2 way valve (L shape), Volvo part 9178897
On the passengers side the valve is 3 way (T shape) , Volvo part 31391513

My 3 way valve had blown apart - the bottom was missing, so when I activated the window washer the water just leaked out from the broken valve and nothing came out onto the windscreen. Also, my wiper blades were about 3-4 years old and starting to show signs of ageing.

The day after I got home I went to a nearby wrecker and removed the wiper blade and 3 way valve from an ex Japan XC60 they were wrecking and the guy let me have the bits for free. (He probably took pity on me coming around looking for a used wiper blade !). The reality was that it was the valve I wanted immediately, the wiper blades are readily available at numerous auto stockists. Fitting these parts got the washer and wipers working OK again and later in the week I bought a pair of new Bosch wiper blades.

I’ve decided that from now on for any long road trips if my wiper blades aren’t newish (say less than 2 years old) then I will carry a spare set with me. Whilst one can do without a window washer, wipers are essential….