@theluthier I've already submitted my part for the assignment 4 since I won't have much time for modeling in July. The rear axle end housing is now one single all-quad-mesh with simplyfied topology but the shading in some parts is still bad as described here. I would like to correct it for this assignment.
Wow you're putting a lot of work into the axle! Definitely more complicated than I ever would have guessed at the beginning.
It's possible that some topology tweaking could minimize the shading artifacts. But if not then Spikey's suggestion to use the shrinkwrap approach is a good one.
I will plan to address this during the stream next if that's ok with you?
I also have to reshape the red main body of my rear axle end housing as this drawing shows:
That's really a challenge. And the joint visible at the right side has to be connected to the housing after the application of the "Mirror Modifier". But I can do this only if I've got the main body's shape right.
Yes, the shrinkwrap method is probably the most promising approach. I'm looking forward to the next livestream. Today, I've uploaded a better version of my rear axle. But there's still some work.