Brake Master Cylinder - Need so advice

[Silver]

Hi All

I have a 1998 Audi A6 1.9tdi , recently I found the brake pedal travels a fair amount when braking. I have narrowed it down to a possible faulty brake master cylinder.
Can someone tell me if its possible for the MC to be unbolted and pulled out of the plenum chamber without having to remove anything else such as the brake servo. I ask as there is very little space there for it to move and wanted to know if anyone else has done this or has an idea before I get stuck. Thks

[turpal]

Hve u bled the system before concluding that?

[ametlib]

Yes it's possible, bend it upwards.
If you choose to replace it, bleeding theese cars can really be a pain in the a...
You will need some equipment to pressurize the fluid container ( MAX 2 kg )
Use the pedal (gently) at the same time.

[Doctle Odd]

Don't let the abs pump go dry or you'll need VCDS to cycle the pump, get enough brake fluid to do a fluid change and take the reservoir off the master makes it easier to jiggle around

[Silver]

Thank you for your hints and tips so far.

I will try bleeding the system first though before removing the MC, I'm hoping that it will resolve the issue (but doubt it). I will also check its not the servo as I heard that they can get ruined by water, due to the drain holes being blocked in the plenum chamber. I did have water sitting there for a few days before I noticed it.
I'm assuming the normal bleeding method will be enough eg start at the furthest bleeding point and end up at the nearest point. I will hopefully give it a go tomorrow weather permitting. If I do need to change the MC will I need to bleed the clutch also ?

[Doctle Odd]

Is the pedal going rock hard under braking? If not the servo should be ok which is good as it's a pig to change. yes the clutch will need bled as well. If you're doing the work you might find one of these useful
Halfords | Europat Vizibleed Brake and Clutch Bleeding Kit

[Silver]

Have changed the master cylinder today, took a little longer getting it back in.
When fitting the new one you need to have someone press and hold the brake pedal slightly to bring forward the pin before inserting the brake master cylinder, so that the pin goes into the MC, this is to make sure the pin is guided directly in to place other wise you will waste a lot of time.
The other thing you only need to remove the 22mm Hexagon nuts and only loosen the torx bolts just enough to tilt the brake servo to achieve a better angle when removing and putting the new master cylinder back in. I had a problem getting the brake fluid bottle to push into the master cylinder, so I used a clamp and piece of wood placed over the back part of the bottle and slowly tightened the clamp.
I did my best to not allow too much air back into the system and did not have to bleed the clutch, it still works fine for now. Can someone tell me how I will know if I need to cycle the ABS pump with VCDS and how to do it ?
Would there be any harm in cycling the ABS pump anyway ? as when pumping the brakes I can hear a sucking type noise coming from the ABS unit (I had this before I started to remove the MC)
I'm not 100% sure if the MC was the issue maybe 80%, as the fluid which came out was slightly darker then the new one, but then I'm thinking if it was the fluid had passed its sell buy date then would the pedal almost sink to the floor or just feel spongy ? Fluid was last changed about 2 to 3 years ago and the car has done just over 200,000 miles