I have not heard of a drive shaft breaking apart. I have heard of the vibration problem from the shaft when the constant velocity (CV) joint goes bad. I have also experienced this myself! Attached the GM service guild article.
When the drive shaft is out of the car and on the floor, a good CV joint will not allow the shaft to lay straight, it will want to bend at the CV joint. There are 6 different repair kits for the CV joint!
There are several different drive shafts in length, plus with and without a two piece rear section joined with a rubber sleeve. When making a drive shaft from different transmission cars (auto, 3-speed or 4-speed) be sure the overall length remains the same. There are at least two different lengths for the rear section and three different lengths for the front section.
The center bearing is the same for both styles of bearing hangers, cross member or floor pan mounted.
