Changeing serpetine belt

[rachor]

I have been trying to change my serpentine belt on my 1996 ford windstar with no luck at all....i found a quick release to pull forward to get the old belt off....however the new will not fit back on...the new and old belt look as if they are the same lenght...but it just won't go...am i missing something here? I am going back to autozone to check and see if there could be a misstake in the belt size...i must have the new belt on tomorrow....June 6th....this is the only way i have to go to work...if anyone has changed this belt...please let me know if there is anything eles i need to know....ty....nevertheless...i have managed to change the back spark plugs and the coil pack...so if there is anyone out there that needs to ask any questions about that...i can probably help.

[wiswind]

There is a diagram of the belt routing on the underside of the hood. I have made the mistake of looking at it.....then installing the belt.....to find that it did not fit.....a CLOSE inspection of my work....and I found that I had not followed the correct routing. Just one wrong turn....and it will seem too long, or too short. I am guessing that you may have done the same thing.

One thing to keep in mind while you are putting the belt on, smooth pulley, smooth side of belt, grooved pulley, grooved side of belt.

Autozone should also have the correct routing for the belt under vehicle repair guides on their website.... www.autozone.com