"Is it less likely to fail or is it simply less of a disaster when it does?"
lets see driving down the highway @ 60 mph and your rear u-joint let's go, the front of the drive shaft drops down comes in contact with the road, if there are not any sewer covers or pot holes you might live when it flips.

 

well..

 

yup; that's what happens, it only happens to you once though

 

Where is the cheapest place to get an aftermarket drive shaft?

 

"Where is the cheapest place to get an aftermarket drive shaft?"

If you have to ask that question you shouldn't be driving a Land Rover.

never good to look for the cheapest part to bolt to an expensive vehicle.

Perhaps you meant to ask where you could find the highest quality part for the best price.

 

I use dynamic drive shaft in ark. but the are a lot of places. the rear is a much easier rebuild compared to the front

 

mine is OEM. Okay what is the probability of disaster for rear drive shaft. One in a million i will take my chances one in 10 I will get a new one. The pic above is not even a disco? I'm sure drive shafts break but so does everything else, any more accurate data then it could happen?

 

x2 on only once. usually, you feel the vibrations of crapped out u-joint on the rear, then rebuild... easy enough. Once, i had one shear completely (no warning) and I pole vaulted the rear end of an '81 toyota, on a white rock road................had to get a seat cover, afterwards no extreme damage, but I wasn't on the highway, with traffic. I no longer wait to feel vibrations of a failing shaft.

 

I'm sorry what answer did you want us to give you? seeing as you don't seem to like the ones you have gotten so far.
What do you want to hear don't worry? ok don't worry.

 

First timer replaced front shaft yesterday. Purchased mine from BPU. Spent $350 or thereabouts.

8 14mm bolts ; four in front and four in rear. Sprayed bolts initially with some lube to ease up rust and varnish. Let set for an hour or so. Used a creeper and jacked up my '03 disco about a 1 foot off the ground to crawl under the landy. Took some persuasion for the bolts to loosen up, but did it. Left the four bolts on the rear, but replaced the four nuts and bolts in the front (front defined as under engine). Darn thing nearly fell on my head once a small pounding of the hammer loosened the OEM front prop shaft off. Put the new one on and tightened those nuts "wicked" tight. Used a good box wrench for all work...small needle nose vice grips also helped.

Lastly, made sure my replacement prop shaft was greased up. Learned how to do it (greasing, removal and install of front prop) by posting a ton of questions on this forum, as well as asking a ton of questions from guys who earned their stripes here on this forum.

Not sure how much money I saved if my dealer did this job. I spent maybe two to three hours doing this job. But more important, I got intimate with my disco and looked under her to see what makes her work. I think she likes me all the more.

Rob