Slave Cylinder Snapped

[FIAFRED]

Gang,

Taking a leisurely drive today when I enagaged the clutch to shift into third. I heard this little tink under my clutch pedal, and suddendly had no clutch. Not far from home, I gently drove my car home and let it cool. After jacking up the car to check the clutch arm adjustment, I discovered that the slave cylinder mounting arm had snapped leaving the assembly semi-functional until I physically touched the rod arm and had the slave cylinder fall free. Have any of you experienced this situation? I have a top loader and the cylinder is a Wagner-Lockheed. I think it stamped FD 48909. Do you think that this was a weak or slightly fractured part, or does this possibly indicate that the positioning of the drive arm is out of plumb to the extent that it is placing undue stress agianst the bracket. The reason that I say this, is because the casing on the tranny has been notched out by the manufacturer so that the drive arm has clearance to engage the slave cylinder. However, I noticed that the arm has been rubbed worn a little bit against the casing. This is what leads me to believe that the casing needs to be notched out a little more since the flex boot sits slightly at an angle, thus changing the angle that the drive arm takes to enage the cylinder. While I know that this part is warrantable form my builder, I'm wondering if the major parts houses might have it in stock. But more so, what should I do to keep this from happening again? Any suggestioms or comments?

Fred