96 explorer need shocks?

my wifes 96 Explorer E.B. recently started to really swerve when driving down the road. It has had some play in the steering wheel for as long as I can remember but would always drive straight. This winter it started where the thing would drift from one side of the lane to the other, and is hard to keep it straight. In fact I lost control of it once this winter because of it.
It also feels like (though it may be my imagination) that the thing really "dips" when taking corners.

It has 203,000+ miles on it, and as far as I know, the shocks have never been replaced. The tires are fairly new and inflated properly.

If the shocks should / need to be replaced, how do I know if it has the automatic ride control or not? The destruction manual for it says that there should be a switch in the back to turn it on or off if it has it. I don't know if it has the ARC, and I'm just missing the switch, or does it not have ARC and I'm looking for something that isn't there.

It sounds like you need to inspect the front end for safety issues, such as work ball joints or tie rod ends. Shocks would likely cause the play in the steering or the bump steering.

Did this just happen after putting new tires on? When you say "properly inflated" are they inflated per the pressure listed on the tire sidewall or per the door sticker? They should be inflated per the door sticker. Did you have the Explorer aligned after getting new tires?

If you have ARC, there will be wires going to the shocks, that might be easier than looking for a switch that may or may not be hidden. I've never knowingly seen an Explorer with ARC, so I'm not sure what the switch would look like.

-Rod

I may have figured it out. I was asking a friend of mine what he thought it might be. He said it sounds like the rear end might need alignment. That triggered my memory. My wife had stuck it in a snow filled ditch this winter, and the tow truck had to hook to the rear axle to pull it out sideways.

Thats about when it started, so I'll have to get that checked out.

Check sway bar links, front and rear.