What is the correct way to change a serpentine belt on a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria?

I have been told that the serpentine on my 2000 Ford Crown Victoria is cracked and needs to be replaced soon. Is this a shade tree mechanic repair or must it be done at a shop? Are there any special tools required? I have changed lots of fan belts but never a serpentine. How difficult is this?What is the correct way to change a serpentine belt on a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria?it is not a great deal more complicated than a v belt but it is a spring loaded tension er on that and many of the other serpentine belt set ups. big thing is locate the belt diagram or illustrate the route of the belt. after that locate the tension er. it should use a 3/8 drive ratchet to release the tension on the belt i believe. with that off, you can slide the belt off of one pulley and release that tool. remove the belt the rest of the way and match up the two belts to confirm the length. as long as you have the right one, you can start putting it back in place as the old one came off. as a bit of advice to you from a guy that has dome several of them on many different cars, use a pulley that is smooth with out a ridge on the outside edge to make the last one as easy as possible. once that belt is all the way back in place then you can release that ratchet and pull it out again and double check the belt for positioning and tension. restart and make sure that the belt stays in position and every thing turns like it should.What is the correct way to change a serpentine belt on a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria?It is really not that difficult. Usually the belt path will be on a sticker in the engine compartment. If it is not, take a couple of pictures before you remove the old belt. Somewhere in the run of pulleys is a spring loaded "tension idler pulley" that is easy to locate because it is not actually connected to a component and is almost always at the top left or right. Using a pry-bar to remove the tension from the arm and slip the belt off of this pulley. The belt then can be easily removed. Put the new belt on in the reverse order making sure that you pay attention to the direction arrow on the belt.What is the correct way to change a serpentine belt on a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria?easy to change, release pressure on the belt tensioner and pull belt off, look for belt routing diagram under the hood of the vehicle or in your owners manual and reinstall belt according to diagram, release pressure on belt tensioner again and route belt over top of it and then release tensioner and your done.