I had a gator fail on a rear drive shaft and all the grease was lost. If I hadn't caught it in time it probably would have failed because of that but very good question. I still think a stiff VCU caused my Rear Diff front mount to fail prematurely.It's very unusual for a rear drive shaft to fail. Is the VCU in good condition?
Something has made it fail.
How can you tell by looking at it?VCU looks fine
The Hub Nut will also have to come off - the locking tab needs knocking out and they are done up stupid tight. A 6 sided 32mm socket is needed and a very strong breaker bar with a strong extension pole over it and use the jack to raise/turn the bar. Hopefully the nut turns rather than stuff just bending or breaking.Not hard to replace the drive shaft but getting the long bolt at the bottom of the hub can be a right mare, If you want to save a few quid just replace the CV joint.
Have you actually tested it?VCU looks fine
you never need to knock the locked part of the nut up undoing the nut does thatThe Hub Nut will also have to come off - the locking tab needs knocking out and they are done up stupid tight. A 6 sided 32mm socket is needed and a very strong breaker bar with a strong extension pole over it and use the jack to raise/turn the bar. Hopefully the nut turns rather than stuff just bending or breaking.
This ^^^^you never need to knock the locked part of the nut up undoing the nut does that