1996 4.6 Mustang GT serpentine belt replacement?

[peelerboy]

Hi guys! Is replacing the serpentine belt on a `96 Mustang GT (4.6 liter) easy enough to do that a semi-mechanically inclined friend could do it with a minimum of tools?

A buddy of mine just called from a parking lot where his belt snapped off. (obviously the belt needed to be replaced before, but he didn't!) Can this be done with a tire iron like the old 5 liter Mustangs could?... or will be need a socket? Can anyone post any pix or at least the image of a diagram showing the routing?? I tried doing a search here on automotive forums, but came up empty handed.

Thanks in advance!
Dale

[351wStang]

I'm not sure exactly what the belt tensioner on the 4.6 requires. But, I'd bet that if you took a 1/2" & a 3/8" ratchet, as well as a pry bar that you could get the job done with one of those tools. Most of the tensioners today just have a 1/2" or 3/8" square hole in them where the ratchet itself will fit right in there.

[captsds]

This is the easiest job I have ever done on my '96 GT convertible. You will need a 1/2in ratchet and a 4 inch extension. Put the extension in the square hole on the belt tensioner, and use the wrench to put slack in the old belt to get it off, and the new one to put it on. It took me about 5 minutes.