1997 Chevy Monte Carlo loosing coolant smoking at fire wall

I have a 98 Monte. I just had to replace a timing chain covor gasket right before Christmas. Mine was a very bad leak behind the water pump. My leak was on the passanger side of the engine (3.1 liter) where the serp. Belt and pullies are located. A head gasket usually leaks at the back of the engine. Yours sounds like it probably is a head gasket, unfortunately. Even a small leak can cause the needle on the temp gauge to move up and down sometimes quite often. The repair is estimated to be 6-6 hours long and costs about $200-$300 in parts.