diff --git a/test/e2e/daemon_restart.go b/test/e2e/daemon_restart.go
index 12af50770ee..03e723b8b29 100644
--- a/test/e2e/daemon_restart.go
+++ b/test/e2e/daemon_restart.go
@@ -56,15 +56,6 @@ const (
 	UPDATE              = "UPDATE"
 )
 
-// nodeExec execs the given cmd on node via SSH. Note that the nodeName is an sshable name,
-// eg: the name returned by framework.GetMasterHost(). This is also not guaranteed to work across
-// cloud providers since it involves ssh.
-func nodeExec(nodeName, cmd string) (framework.SSHResult, error) {
-	result, err := framework.SSH(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("%v:%v", nodeName, sshPort), framework.TestContext.Provider)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	return result, err
-}
-
 // restartDaemonConfig is a config to restart a running daemon on a node, and wait till
 // it comes back up. It uses ssh to send a SIGTERM to the daemon.
 type restartDaemonConfig struct {
@@ -100,7 +91,7 @@ func (r *restartDaemonConfig) waitUp() {
 		"curl -s -o /dev/null -I -w \"%%{http_code}\" http://localhost:%v/healthz", r.healthzPort)
 
 	err := wait.Poll(r.pollInterval, r.pollTimeout, func() (bool, error) {
-		result, err := nodeExec(r.nodeName, healthzCheck)
+		result, err := framework.NodeExec(r.nodeName, healthzCheck)
 		framework.ExpectNoError(err)
 		if result.Code == 0 {
 			httpCode, err := strconv.Atoi(result.Stdout)
@@ -120,7 +111,8 @@ func (r *restartDaemonConfig) waitUp() {
 // kill sends a SIGTERM to the daemon
 func (r *restartDaemonConfig) kill() {
 	framework.Logf("Killing %v", r)
-	nodeExec(r.nodeName, fmt.Sprintf("pgrep %v | xargs -I {} sudo kill {}", r.daemonName))
+	_, err := framework.NodeExec(r.nodeName, fmt.Sprintf("pgrep %v | xargs -I {} sudo kill {}", r.daemonName))
+	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 }
 
 // Restart checks if the daemon is up, kills it, and waits till it comes back up
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/util.go b/test/e2e/framework/util.go
index eb214c41e74..4933b7a5dd1 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/util.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/util.go
@@ -180,6 +180,8 @@ const (
 
 	// Serve hostname image name
 	ServeHostnameImage = "gcr.io/google_containers/serve_hostname:v1.4"
+	// ssh port
+	sshPort = "22"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -3781,7 +3783,7 @@ func NodeSSHHosts(c clientset.Interface) ([]string, error) {
 
 	sshHosts := make([]string, 0, len(hosts))
 	for _, h := range hosts {
-		sshHosts = append(sshHosts, net.JoinHostPort(h, "22"))
+		sshHosts = append(sshHosts, net.JoinHostPort(h, sshPort))
 	}
 	return sshHosts, nil
 }
@@ -3795,6 +3797,13 @@ type SSHResult struct {
 	Code   int
 }
 
+// NodeExec execs the given cmd on node via SSH. Note that the nodeName is an sshable name,
+// eg: the name returned by framework.GetMasterHost(). This is also not guaranteed to work across
+// cloud providers since it involves ssh.
+func NodeExec(nodeName, cmd string) (SSHResult, error) {
+	return SSH(cmd, net.JoinHostPort(nodeName, sshPort), TestContext.Provider)
+}
+
 // SSH synchronously SSHs to a node running on provider and runs cmd. If there
 // is no error performing the SSH, the stdout, stderr, and exit code are
 // returned.
@@ -3835,7 +3844,7 @@ func IssueSSHCommandWithResult(cmd, provider string, node *v1.Node) (*SSHResult,
 	host := ""
 	for _, a := range node.Status.Addresses {
 		if a.Type == v1.NodeExternalIP {
-			host = a.Address + ":22"
+			host = net.JoinHostPort(a.Address, sshPort)
 			break
 		}
 	}
@@ -4413,7 +4422,7 @@ func sshRestartMaster() error {
 		command = "sudo /etc/init.d/kube-apiserver restart"
 	}
 	Logf("Restarting master via ssh, running: %v", command)
-	result, err := SSH(command, GetMasterHost()+":22", TestContext.Provider)
+	result, err := SSH(command, net.JoinHostPort(GetMasterHost(), sshPort), TestContext.Provider)
 	if err != nil || result.Code != 0 {
 		LogSSHResult(result)
 		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't restart apiserver: %v", err)
@@ -5381,7 +5390,7 @@ func GetNodeExternalIP(node *v1.Node) string {
 	host := ""
 	for _, a := range node.Status.Addresses {
 		if a.Type == v1.NodeExternalIP {
-			host = a.Address + ":22"
+			host = net.JoinHostPort(a.Address, sshPort)
 			break
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/test/e2e/kubelet.go b/test/e2e/kubelet.go
index b23ba045f5d..a8f6da78a23 100644
--- a/test/e2e/kubelet.go
+++ b/test/e2e/kubelet.go
@@ -261,7 +261,8 @@ func checkPodCleanup(c clientset.Interface, pod *v1.Pod, expectClean bool) {
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		framework.Logf("Wait up to %v for host's (%v) %q to be %v", timeout, nodeIP, test.feature, condMsg)
 		err = wait.Poll(poll, timeout, func() (bool, error) {
-			result, _ := nodeExec(nodeIP, test.cmd)
+			result, err := framework.NodeExec(nodeIP, test.cmd)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 			framework.LogSSHResult(result)
 			ok := (result.Code == 0 && len(result.Stdout) > 0 && len(result.Stderr) == 0)
 			if expectClean && ok { // keep trying