six bolt swap done...car idling like shitzu

[chaye]

hey pips whats up
alright for a while i have been working on m six bolt swap and last week i have finally finished..but low and behold i had oil leakeage problems. I fixed the oil leaks yesterday and got it running...sort of.
today i gave it a shot again at fixing the idle speed and setting the ignition timing..

well i think i got the timing done however i have some questions..
when i grounded the brown connector on the firewall and hooked up my timing light the BTDC was set at 0 so i fixed that and i moved it to 5 like it says on the book..however when i unhooked the brown connector from ground and rechecked the timing the dot was moving all over the place is this normal or does it have to always be at 5?

also i havent being able to get a steady idle speed..here is what i have done so far.
1. blocked the EGR ( helped a bit)
2. checked the ISC and it checked out good
3. checked my vacum hoses and rounting like 5 times ( all was good)
4. checked that all to intake mani bolts where torqued to spec
5. BISS in place and so is the cap.
6. will recheck spark plug gap and plug wires tomorrow..

anyways after all that was done i still couldnt get a steady idle speed and when ever i reved the engine it dies..as if the ecu wasnt even trying to catch the rpms..WTF

what else can i do to fix this problem

and one more thing is it normal for the engine to be freakingly hot when its running(i mean like the valve cover gets so hot that if you touch it you may get 1st degree burn , or cook some eggs on the valve cover)
The thermostat checks out fine(its new) all my cooling sensors are good and the fan works.
so is it normal??
thanks guys

 

[nineD5_GS-T]

Try using a leak tester and pressurize the system.

 

[sirhcs 4g63]

speaking of blocking the EGR...i have the 6-bolt swap in my 97 but i have a CEL saying that the EGR is malfunctioning or missing. how do i get rid of this without going to the mechanic to clear my code for a day or three?