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At $2,000 they make a profit. At $1,200 they make a profit, and at $400 they make a profit. We can buy one condenser on eBay for $70. Image how cheap they get them for when they buy a few million at a time. Lets say their cost is $50 for the condenser. The replacement condenser might even be free for the dealer if they have a defect guarantee through their supplier. Anyway, lets say they pay $50 for the condenser. If they are not busy, then the labor costs the dealer nothing, because the mechanics are sitting around drinking coffee on the clock anyway. Even if they are very busy and the repair cuts into their other repairs, it takes at most an hour to swap it out and recharge the system. They pay the mechanic at most .... what..... $50 an hour? So they are into it $100, and they charge you $400 - its a $300 profit margin. I'm not saying that you got a bad deal. All I'm saying is that neither did the dealer. I worked for a manufacturing company at one time, and they sold their product for $2,000, with a lifetime warranty on the electric motor. The electric motor itself had a retail price of $750, but under warranty you could get it replaced for only a $100 deductible. The motors cost the company $11 each when they bought them in bulk. It didn't take long for the company to figure out that if they put even lower quality motors in the product, that they would make even more money. The cost was lower, plus they would replace twice as many motors under warranty. Every warranty repair they did would result in an $89 profit. Who did they have replace the motors? The guy that builds the product. He would sit there and build the products, and when a warranty repair came in, he would fix it and then go back to building more of the crappy products. No extra cost on labor at all, because he was already on the clock and had a huge stockpile of products that he had already built. Dealers make money in one of two ways: 1) Sell the trade-ins with a huge profit margin. 2) Service and repair cars with a huge profit margin. A dealer's least profitable transaction is selling a brand new car to an experienced buyer with no trade in. P.S. Not looking to start a big debate over dealership profitability.

It may or may not be heat from the engine. The air intake for the vents is generally just in front of the windshield at the base of the hood. The engine heat is generally expelled under the engine. Although its possible that the heat may be radiating up over the fenders and into the air intake for the vents, even a slight breeze would prevent this. It may be possible that your heater controls are not adjusted properly. Here is a way that you could test it: Buy two probe type thermometers. Make sure they are both calibrated the same. Exact temp doesn't matter, as long as they both read the same temp. Stick one probe type thermometer in the main dash vent. Stick the other probe on top of the passenger side headrest, without covering the probe tip. Point the vents away from the passenger seat. Warm the rig up, and let it idle in the driveway, with the vent set to "fresh air intake", no A/C and the setting on the lowest temp option. Wait 30 seconds and compare temp gauges. Now drive the vehicle at freeway speeds, and check the temps again. If the vent temp is only higher than the seat temp at idle, then you are pulling in engine heat. If the vent temp is higher at highway speed as well, then you need to have the temperature controls adjusted. Doing this test on a cloudy or rainy day is recommended. The sun could heat up the hood, or passenger compartment and throw off the results. P.S. I'm making this up as I go, so it may not be a perfect formula. Any HVAC experts out there that can chime in? Am I on the right track with the diagnostic procedure?

The cable adjustment procedure described earlier in this thread works very well to adjust the automatic cable tensioner located in the peddle. I would not use vice grips as described, because it would smash the braided cable and cause damage, which would result in rust or binding. I did mine a little differently. I applied the parking brake, and then used a long thin brass rod (coat hanger would work) to secure the equalizer in place. Essentially the wire wraps around the equalizer, and then runs along the frame two ward the front of the vehicle. Then I secured the other end of the wire to one of the holes that the brake cable passes through. When you release the brake, they cable wont retract as far as it should, and that causes the automatic peddle adjuster to "take a better bit" of the cable. Then release the brake, and press the peddle down again. The peddle instantly has a way better feel. Much firmer peddle, and the brakes grab much better. Removing the wire seemed to "un-do" the adjustment, so I suggest leaving the wire on there. Obviously you want to have the rear end off the ground, so you can spin the tires and make sure there is no drag when the brake is off. Does the wire make the brakes drag? No, but if it does on yours, loosen up wire a little. Does the wire come off when the brake is applied? Make the wire is real long, and secure both ends well, the center will flex/bend as the brake is applied. The wire acts like a rope would. It prevents the equalizer from moving too far toward the back of the rig when he brake is released, but doesn't effect the movement of the equalizer when the equalizer is moving toward the front of the vehicle. Similar to the way suspension straps work. Same concept anyway:

You may be able to isolate which axle is the problem by applying the e-brake to see if the sound starts or stops. If the brake changes the sound, it mean that axle is probably to blame. Anyway, if it were mine, I would probably change the brake pads to a type that are specifically designed to be quiet.

Good times man, ya cant beat that.

If its pulling in heat from the engine, you could try setting the vents to recycle the cabin air.

$70 for the condenser: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-A-C-Condenser-for-Chevrolet-Silverado-1500-GM3030305-2014-to-2015-/112267891390?fits=Year%3A2015%7CModel%3ASilverado+1500&hash=item1a23b012be:g:JXsAAOSwTuJYs6Cz&vxp=mtr

The adhesive ability and strength of those two products is incredible. You have to see it to believe it. As long as the surface is cleaned with alcohol first, they will do the job. I have used Permatex to patch slashed sidwalls on ATV's, and then had large rocks scrape against the sidewalls with no leaks. The way it bonds to metal reminds me of the rubber that is adhered to some types of motor mounts. When it dries, its consistency and flexibility is similar to tire rubber. If you put a large glob of this stuff on clean metal and let it dry, you would definitely not be able to peel it off, You would have to cut it off, and then follow up with a razor blade scraper to get it all. Its about $20 for a small can of this stuff, but its worth every penny. I use it for all kinds of automotive stuff.

My guess is that if you did nothing at all to prepare, it would start up just fine with no problems. Cold weather prep seems like it was more important on older technology diesels. That being said, I have never owned that model truck, and although I have worked on many many diesel engines, I have never owned one for personal use. I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum must already own that truck and will have some insight on the matter.

Ya, many repairs are beyond the skills of some people. The dealership is often the only option. Any patches that I have done were while the radiator or condenser were still in the vehicle. If the part needs to be removed to patch it, ya might as well put a new one in. Here is a good example of what I mean. I had to replace some front end parts on a Pathfinder that I picked up cheap. The condenser was leaking, but since it had to come off anyway for the repairs, I just bought one at the junk yard for $14, and after I had the rig all back together, I recharged the system with about $5 worth of Freon from Walmart. Vacuuming the A/C system is recommended by everyone, however I did not. I figure that if the pump goes bad from moisture in the system, I will just buy a replacement pump from the junk yard for $22. I fixed this rig in 2014, and have had no problems so far with the A/C. Many people are working on much more expensive rigs, with parts that are much harder to find used. In addition, not everyone knows how to remove an A/C pump. Many people do not know what an A/C pump looks like. My repair examples are not a recommended procedure, but more of an informational type of thing. Might spark some ideas for people, and show them some other avenues to explore.

Does it work better first thing in morning, when its cold? Does it work better after it has been on for an hour?

Wow. Uh... Is that directed at me?

I doubt that you will reach a large enough audience in a single forum to get any real statistical info or see any kind of trends, but I may be wrong. A site that is centered around that kind of stuff may be more useful, such as a site like this: https://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Silverado/2010/

A dealer may be willing to give you the statistical information.

I would drive down to the dealer, and ask them to show me what i'm doing wrong.

Sorry, don't mean to over post, but this is a subject that I have a lot of experience with. Here is two products you can use: The Permatex One Minute Gasket maker is the best, because it will flex with the expansion and contraction of the radiator (due to temperature changes). Its a very durable rubber that sticks to anything. I have never seen this product fail. The JB Quick will work, and set up faster, but it does not flex the same way as the Permatex will. The JB Qucik can fail due to the temperature changes. The JB Quick radiator repair failures are rare, but it does happen when epoxy type products are used for this type of repair.

I have a 1994 Altima that was in a front end crash before I got it. The condenser had a hole in the front center. I planned on replacing the condenser, but I tried the patch first (nothing to lose) and it worked. A friend of mine was pulling forward in his dads brand new Ford truck and ran over a flower planter. Broke off the the lower outlet tube (that tube that the lower radiator hose attaches to). I cleaned it up with alcohol and used Permatex to put it back on. Told him to wait 24 hours before putting the hose back on. That was 3 years ago, and his dad is still driving that rig with no radiator leaks. The examples could go on and on. Jules's brother had a Honda with a broken seam across the top of the radiator, and it was leaking badly along about a 10" section. I told him to clean it with alcohol and throw a bunch of Permtex at it. He did it at night and he drove it to work the next morning and it was fine, no more leaks. (he was supposed to wait 24 hours before driving it!) Here are some Google pics, of other people doing the same thing:

I have repaired A/C condensers and radiators with Permatext many times. I have had other people report back to me that my repair advice worked (to their amazement). Here is the way I look at it: What do you have to lose? The condenser is already broken. Putting a band-aid on the condenser is not going to make your rear bumper fall off. Worst case scenario - throw the $15 can of gasket maker in the trash and take the rig to the dealer and pay them what they want. They wont charge you more just because there is a little patch of Permatex on the condenser. You could even buy the $82 condenser on eBay and then pay a little mom and pop shop $100 to install it and recharge the A/C system.