Hi, I drive a 1998 honda civic, recently did a mini me head swap with a d16z6. However, a week later i ran into another problem. I burst the coolant hose that went from the thermostat to the back of the Intake Manifold. I blamed it on old hoses. However, today i was driving and heard another loud pop so i shut it off immediately and found that i burst my upper radiator hose. I haven't checked for exhaust gas in the coolant yet, as well as a leakdown test. I was just curious if exhaust gas in the coolant system could pressurize the system enough to cause hoses to burst. Wouldn't the overflow as well as the radiator cap prevent this from happening? My car doesn't show signs of overheating, i checked it (The ECT sensor) before the swap to check when the radiator fan turns on. I also don't have any white smoke from my exhaust. Thermostat was replaced 6 months ago, but i believe a stuck thermostat would cause overheating not pressurization. And It might of been that i didn't bleed the coolant system properly, but again could that cause such a rupture? Hopefully i can figure this out and hopefully its not a bad headgasket. Thank you for your time

 

Rent a block tester kit from AutoZone, and also replace the radiator cap.

 

block tester.

 

Block tester.

mine blew the lower rad hose off twice. Head Gasket was leaking.