89 z24 problems

i have an 89 z24 and it suddenly without warning quit on me. It almost acts like a catalitc converter problem, but thats empty. I messed with the egr valve with minimal effects. i didnot change the egr valve but did beat on it a little and tried cleaning out.

my questions is can you clean an egr valve or can you bypass it completely.

YOu need to do some diagnostic work to determine why it quit on you. EGR and catalytic issues are not "sudden" events. They usually cause poor performance but not stalling.

this happened within a matter of 2 days. The fuel consumption went up dramatically. there was a very strong fuel odor. after i messed with the egr valve the fuel odor lessened. I did have the car running for awhile after i messed with it. but the it stopped working again

The fuel odor is a clue. If the odor is under the hood check your injector seals, pressure regulator seal and fuel lines. If the odor is near the exhaust the check to see if you have spark(you probably do). Check for stuck valve, and you can plug off the egr temporarly with a gasket cut from bulk gasket material. Good Luck.