You can't afford to finance the extra cost of a factory 4x4 to the tune of an extra $40/month for 5 years, but you can afford to cough up a few thousand dollars in parts and labor in the span of a few months or less, AND you can afford footing the repair costs on any issues that would otherwise be covered by the warranty you're prepared to severely compromise?

Transfer case is "married" meaning it and the transmission are essentially one piece, vs. a "divorced" (capped off as you put it) unit which is an independent unit from the transmission. In other words (in the case of the Xterra), if you want a transfer case, you need the transmission that goes with it.

You're out of your mind,
Brent