Solid spacer pinion sleeve gurus come in

[72tutone]

I'm in the process of swapping my rear end gears. Which I will be sellling here on the site once they are out. They are Yukon posi w/3.42 gears less than 500 miles. Way to short for a 4l80e. But, would be great for a 60e, 700r4 etc. I digress.

My question is I'm installing a solid pinion sleeve instead of the crush sleeve. I've heard a half a dozen different torque specs. I've heard it doesn't matter what the torque is, as long as the preload is correct in inch lbs. Ive heard 125 ft lbs, 140, 150, all the way up to 200ft lbs.

What I'm finding is say I get the preload to where it needs to be, 13-15 per Yukon on new bearings, once I start torquing down the nut, the preload shoots sky high. But I'm able to get to a point where the slack is taken up, there is drag on the bearings, and the preload is correct. This is all before I put a torque wrench on it. Once I do, and use the beam style in lb torque wrench, its well over 25-30 in lbs.

Does the torque on the nut matter with preload? Should I torque the nut, and then check the preload?

Super confused. Thanks in advance!