96 thunderbird main bearing replacement

i have to replace the front main bearing in my 96 t-bird. do i have to pull the motor or can it be done by just taking the oil pan off? i'd like to know before starting to save some time.

You can do it by dropping the pan but if the crankshaft is damaged then you'll end up taking the engine out anyway. Be sure to check them all because if one bearing is bad then it's a good bet that the other ones aren't far behind.