Not trying to be mean or offend anyone here, but that just sounds like a bad idea and a waste of time/money regardless of your mechanical capability, IMO. You know a lot of "Jeep Cherokee" people who do this, but why would you want to alter the way one of the best handling SUV's drives so drastically by removing the drive to the front wheels? The handling on the X5 is far superior than any Jeep Cherokee.

I am fairly capable of doing mechanical repairs and I know many people who are more capable than I and I would venture to say that none of them would recommend doing this to a perfectly good X5. Not only is it pointless, but you are taking a chance doing some sort of damage or causing something else to break that you weren't expecting. Sh!t just happens when doing things like this that aren't proven on a particular vehicle. Just because this has been done on Cherokees doesn't mean you will have the same results on an X5. It is a completely different car. I was just trying to help.

I am not a follower, I just don't do dumb, pointless mods to my car just to say I am thinking outside the box. You said "I know a lot of people who do this" so it sounds like you are the follower my friend. To each his own though. Have fun doing it and let us know the vin number so nobody here accidentally buys your X when you go to sell it.