1996 Chevy Cavalier Rough Idle and Gas Smell Inside...Causes?

[Jake]

I was driving home one day when my check engine light came on. I was on the freeway and my car was still driving fine. I got off the freeway and when I stopped at a stoplight, i noticed that the engine was idling very rough. The RPMs were fluctuating and the car was shaking. As soon as I got home, I turned it off and let it cool down. A few hours later i turned it back on and it started right up. Smooth Idle and driving like normal. The check engine light also turned off all by itself. That was a week ago, and i havent had any problems since except that for the last two weeks or so i've smelled gas/exhaust (can't seem to tell which one it is) through the vents inside the cabin. I checked the exhaust system by looking underneath the car and I couldn't see/hear any leaks...but i'm no car expert so I can't be sure. What should I do? What might be the problem?
I just recently had to have a hose reconnected to the charcoal canister...apparantly it fell off. I will definitely look into it!

 

[paul h]

The first thing to do is have the computer scanned for any stored trouble codes from when the check engine light came on....they should be stored on the computer and may indicate what the problem is. Autozone and some other parts stores offer to do this for free.

The gas? smell may be caused by a plugged or defective charcoal cannister or related items which could also cause rough idle....the computer scan may indicate if a problem is indeed with that system. An exhaust smell would be a different matter....you would have to check for leaks which it seems you have done.

Here's a link to trouble codes and what they mean....some are not explained so you might have to do a web search or re-ask the question.

http://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/