poking around in the engine bay today and it appears my serpentine belt has been installed with the ribs back to front, ie the ribs are not matched up against the ribs of the pulleys.
pic attached.
1. am i correct
2. must this be corrected immediately.
3. its looks difficult to remove and replace, how doable is it?

 

apparently some belts are now ribbed both sides for your pleasure

 

I am assuming you have the 3.0 SC unit, if Diesel then correct me.

I have not had to work on our 3.0 as it is just coming off warranty soon but if that is the view I am assuming (SC pulley) then I would say it has a flipped pulley. Normally, the only time you see the inside ribs of the serpentine belt is on the tensioner (Although I have seen on some idler pulleys, especially when the transition from independent pulley configurations to serpentine belt occurred. I think the 2.0L turbo also has this configuration.)
This can cause improper operation and wear of the belt but also create red flags as to question if the belt was installed properly in the first place.

Personally, I would be replacing with a new one properly installed (If belt is not double sided as per your update). The process is quite simple, normally a 1/2 in socket wrench extension, breaker bar or serpentine wrench will work to loosen the tensioner so you may remove the old belt and install the new one.

The only thing that is annoying would be the removal of the cooling/air intake accessories as required to access the belt, belt tensioner and create room for work. Extra care of removing the hoses/piping and connections in case anything has become brittle. It is a time consuming process.

I will include the image of the front of the 3.0SC engine to give a better idea. The tensioner you will need to access is the lower right for the SC. The small square hole on the tensioner will fit the 1/2 inch socket extension if required otherwise a socket wrench will work, I recommend a socket breaker bar as the extra length will be needed for leverage. A lot more fun with the accessories belt.


photo from ebay

dealership parts photo

 

Took a look at mine and it is the same. My Fords and GMs still have the one sided belts.