Pinion Nut Problems

I am replacing the pinion bearings in my 2016 Ram 1500. Factory shim was 1.64mm. I damaged the old shim in the removal process, so I added 1.64mm shims back to the pinion. 

I have a test set of bearing on the same pinion, with the 1.64mm shim in place, but when I go to tighten the pinion nut, I get it as tight as it can be, there is still back and forth play, and the bearing spins free. Not enough to measure on a needle torque wrench. I am also using the old crush sleeve.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong?

I initially thought I needed more shims, but when I add more I can get the nut tighter (not tight enough to read on a needle torque wrench) but the ring pattern indicates that I need to remove shim.

You said crush sleeve.  You need something to hold the flange, and a big ass snipe on your  breaker bar.

This.  The shim locates the pinion gear in the housing to the correct depth so the gears mesh correctly, the crush sleeve is there to hold the bearings apart so there is something to tighten the nut against.

You have to tighten the nut a little at a time until the preload feels correct.  An impact gun probably won't cut it.

I would need to do all that even with using the old crush sleeve? I thought since the old crush sleeve was already crushed that it would snug up fairly easy.

Also I'm using an impact....so that could be the issue too. Time to get the proper yoke holding tool, impact and pry bar probably not the right thing. 

You need a lot of holding strength for that yoke.

Boss and I broke 2 big breaker bars, trying to get the preload set on his GMC 3500.