Last year I got a deal on a used quik-lift. It has the centerlift bridge you can use to place a jack under the car and lift it for pulling the front wheels off. The old Q-L site showed a bottle jack in use. I've been looking at bottle jacks to find one, but I'm not finding one that seems adequate. I have about 10" from the bridge to the front crossmember, so that's not too bad, but I'm not sure how much of a stroke the jack needs to have. They all seem to advertise minimum/maximum range, but that includes the screw on the top going from all the way down, to all the way up with the top screw completely extended. So what do I need as far as actual extension of the jack, not including the top screw?

Also, due to the shape of the front crossmember, do I even want to use a bottle jack, or should I try another approach?

Thanks in advance for helping.

I use an AC Hydraulic... sad, they are no longer available here in the states...

http://www.ac-hydraulic.dk/en/products/hydraulic-jacks/dk13hlq/

with that said, have you checked Harbor Freight?

Picking up via the crossmember is fine... but it will bend it some over time. But so will tall speed bumps.

I've been looking at harbor freight alot. They're just about the worst offender for giving minimum/maximum only without actual range of jack movement. As for the bending of the crossmember, I'm working on a type of plate to support the whole width of the crossmember so the weight isn't on just one small area. BUT, I need to know what kind of lifting device I'm gonna end up with first.

Here Bob. just an example, shows ram stroke, screw range,etc.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200304831_200304831

Or, northerntool, auto repair, bottle jacks for all of them

The also have an air operated one @ $59.00

Also, don't know tha dimensions of the tray you are going to set this in but bottle jacks can be a tad shakey. I'd give some thought to tack welding the corners of the jack base to a larger piece of 1/4 plate.

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That jack is available at a local PepBpoys. I looked at it today, but I'm still not sure about what to get. How far does a C4 need to come up b4 the tires leave the surface?

not far... 4" or 5" or so?

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Thanks Andy, that's good info. I don't lift mine up too much. B4 the QL I used my ramps for oil changes etc...
When I was at Pepboys I saw they had a scissor jack that was hydraulically operated. It has good range, and the hyd part makes it easier to use than a ratchet on a lift screw. I guess now is when I face the hardest part of the whole thing, actually choosing and making a decision. I don't know about you guys, but that's the worst part for me. Not just the decision, but because I've made wrong choices before that I couldn't return, so then I was stuck with a non-working solution and had to save up the money to try something else.