Rearend Rebuild, Need Help

Hey guys, I have taken the 3.23 gears out of the 489 case and cleaned them all up, and replaced the bearings and races. I am trying to put this thing back together but I've got a problem. I am using the same yoke and pinion that I took out but now, I cant get them to go back together. I even tried to beat the pinion into the yoke with a hammer and a block of wood but it doesn't work, the pinion still only goes in so far then stops. Am I doing something wrong? Does the pinion only go into the yoke one way ? How do I get these two back together?

Wow,I don't know where to start with an answer. I'm not real sure I understand your question. But I can guess that you used a new crush sleeve in the rebuild? If so it must be crush to the proper preload. It take about 250 ft lbs to start to crush it and you must continue to zero clearance and then 25 inch lbs of preload. Am I on the right track to your problem? Or you can buy a solid spacer that uses shims to get the proper preload.