Hey all I drive a Pontiac TransAm with a V8 TBI 305 (l03) and an automatic transmission 700R4. I noticed that today when I opened my hood that my reserve tank was bone dry. I checked my oil just to make absolute sure that there was no antifreeze in there and the oil was clean. I then checked the water pump and there was no leaks there. My radiator was full to the cap. I was wondering. Where else should I be looking for leaks or what steps could I take to locate a leak. thanks for any advice that can be given on this.

pressure test the cooling system

Often when the water pump leaks, all the fluid will be on the back of the pulley and get slung off, and you won't really notice it, until everything on the front of the motor ends up covered in a thin film of antifreeze solids.

If you smell it inside the car, it's the heater core; but usually if one of those leaks enough to drain the bottle, your post would have read more like "what's this lake of green stuff in my pass side floor" instead of what it did.

I'd suspect the WP, or a cracked radiator, or a bad rad cap, or a cracked recovery bottle.

I smell a sweet burning marshmellow like smell in the car. So I should get me a new heater core? Roughly whats the price on such an item?

$25-30