anyone know a good way to clean them out? I thought about using a needle but am concerned about making the clog worse, and or messing up the spray pattern.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

After you unclog them, you should add a filter. If you look into the fluid reservoir, you might see some junk like our '88 had.

Our '90 744 TI had a filter so I got the same one at a dealer, installed it in the same location, and never had another clog.
--
96 855R, 95 855,854, 90 744 Ti - 340,000 Volvo miles put on 7 bricks

When mine clog I pull the hoses off the nozzles and blow compressed air into the nozzles. Quick, eazy and fast.

I remove them, using needle nose pliers, by pinching the prongs from the underside(under the hood) and pushing out(towards the spray side. The drivers side sprayer has a hose connected to it that's about 12 inches long. Remove that also. Take the sprayer and hose inside. Reconnect them. Now put the sprayer in boiling water. Leave for about 30 seconds, then blow thru it. Guaranteed to get rid of any dirt/wax buildup. After doing mine; had to re-adjust(with a bobby pin) the sprayer back down onto the windshield. They were working so well, the spray was over-shooting the windshield!
--
Matt

Consider removing 'em and letting it soak in some vinegar. Typical is hard water deposits.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I had the same problem but could never unclog them. I just purchased some new ones. You can usually find them on e-bay. But I got mine here and installed them very easily:

http://www.volvoworld.com/200/Section_5_4.htm

A very fine straight pin or a very thin wire each work fine. Needles can work too, although I've found that some are a little too big to unclog the opening, although they do work well to help you "aim" the spray after you clean up the clog (there is a little silver ball that the spray comes out of, and you can put the needle in the opening in the ball and move the ball up, down, or around to get it aimed where you want it.

Hope this helps.

Mike Brown
Greenville, NC
1996 965 104K
1986 244 137K
--
Mike Brown Greenville, NC 1996 965 94K 1986 244 137K

Never new about how to aim the spray, thanks. I've used one strand from a piece of 10 GA stranded copper wire. There are some little disk shaped inline filters available but I have never tried them nor remember where I saw them, sorry. I don't think the filters where specifically for this, maybe fuel filters from at a hobby shop. I believe the clogs are bits of corrosion from the little metal plate in the pump.

IPD has the filter for the windshield washer. They also carry a "one way valve" that prevents the fluid from siphoning back into the tank- apparently prevents dry wipes of the windshield by the blades before the fluid shows up. In addition, they sell the sprayer nozzels.
Their catalog recommends straightening one end of a staple and using that to push out debris. Then compressed air to blow out the junk.