97 855 front end wobble

[S373N]

Hi guys,
I've been having an issue with front end wobble on my 97 855. I am not sure whether it is a bent rim or something isn't true in the assembly between the wheel and transmission? At low speeds, ie; crawling through parking lots or in traffic jams, there is a pronounced gyration up front - not a vibration, but an actual wobble that can be seen and felt. It gets faster as speeds increase and then disappears at highway speeds of 110km/h and up. The passenger front tire loses pressure every few weeks which I'm thinking could be related to it being on a bent rim and driven? The wobble almost disappears when not at crawling speeds and the tire is properly inflated, however after a day or so when it loses optimal pressure the wobble starts to come back more pronounced. My thoughts are that if it was a bulge in the tire due to a broken belt that the wobble would be more pronounced at high speeds rather than disappear? And is it was an improperly balanced wheels it would be more of a vibration at certain speeds than a wobble from 5km/h to 110km/h? Wife also mentioned one day when I first got the car that when I was pulling away one of the rims looked loose and wobbly, to which I simply checked all of the lugs were torqued and carried on (tires were properly inflated so wobble wasn't really present).

How should I go about checking to see what it is? I paid next to nothing for the car so don't want to take it to a shop and am somewhat mechanically inclined myself, I'm just wondering what the easiest way is to test if a rim is true? Also, there is a set of clean, identical rims as mine for sale for $125 nearby so would like to find out if it is indeed my rim so I can snatch these replacements up ASAP...

Any info appreciated....

[erikv11]

A tire shop can put the wheels on their balancing machine and tell you very quickly if there are issues with a rim or tire/belt, I think I would go that route. Pull the wheels and take them down there might save you a couple bucks, or just drive it in.

Otherwise, a good way to troubleshoot tire/wheel problems is to move the suspicious tires around. In this case, swap the fronts and rears and the problem should go away. Or somehow move to showing symptoms in the rear. If nothing changes then I would look into issues with the drivetrain, but that would be odd.

Whew, in before the bell!

[abscate]

Swap the front and back tires and see if the wobble moves. This is almost a classic broken tire belt symptom though.

Beaten by erik!!!