8 3/4 woes

what is the range of the scale for that clicker torque wrench that you are using?
I doubt that a click wrench will have the sensitivity to be accurate to set bearing preload.
And the more I think about this the more I believe you really need a torque arm with a dial on it so you see the torque to turn in a complete 360 degree sweep of the bearing.
Until the bearing is properly loaded the torque to turn will be erratic. Once the proper load is on it it will level out. You need a dial torque read out to see that.