What is it????

[discoman]

I crawled under my Disco yesterday to get more familar with the underside and I saw some things that were puzzleing.
First off, I noticed that the rear driveshaft is connected to the pumpkin not via a u-joint, but a rubber coupler that looks kinda like a rag joint from a steering shaft. I've never seen that before on a driveshaft! Why does Rover do that? Mine looks like it is starting to tear. I can see where the bolts have come in contact with the opposing shoulder. Is this normal or should I fix this real soon? Also, what is this part called, so that I know what to ask for when ordering a new one?
Secondly, connected to the side of the front pumpkin is a fat rubber disc with a steel cable that loops from one side to the other. It doesn't look like it is connected to anything else. What the heck is this thing called and what is it's purpose??? This one has me really stumped.
Man, I need to order myself a shop manual and soon!

 

[joey]

First the item attached to the driveshaft is the rotoflex... you can replace this with a u-joint and I would advise it. They don't normally last long, and are a pain to change.

The other item is kind of like a harmonic balancer, I heard that some LR's need them i.e. if removed they get vibration, and some people claim that after they get torn off during off roading or whatever that they never even notice they are gone.