An axle shaft assembly for a motor vehicle has a bearing unit, an axle shaft, and a bearing retainer. The axle shaft is supported within the wheel bearing unit. The axle shaft has an outer diameter. The bearing retainer is mounted on the axle shaft and abuts the wheel bearing unit. The bearing retainer has a piloting feature for aligning the bearing retainer with respect to the axle shaft. The piloting feature includes a pilot surface with an inner diameter approximately equal to the outer diameter of the axle shaft.