diff --git a/test/e2e/autoscaling/cluster_size_autoscaling.go b/test/e2e/autoscaling/cluster_size_autoscaling.go
index b5b851c984c..74ceb509670 100644
--- a/test/e2e/autoscaling/cluster_size_autoscaling.go
+++ b/test/e2e/autoscaling/cluster_size_autoscaling.go
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ var _ = framework.KubeDescribe("Cluster size autoscaling [Slow]", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should be able to scale down when rescheduling a pod is required and pdb allows for it[Feature:ClusterSizeAutoscalingScaleDown]", func() {
-		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, 1, 1, func(increasedSize int) {
+		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, f.Namespace.Name, 1, 1, func(increasedSize int) {
 			By("Some node should be removed")
 			framework.ExpectNoError(WaitForClusterSizeFunc(f.ClientSet,
 				func(size int) bool { return size < increasedSize }, scaleDownTimeout))
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ var _ = framework.KubeDescribe("Cluster size autoscaling [Slow]", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("shouldn't be able to scale down when rescheduling a pod is required, but pdb doesn't allow drain[Feature:ClusterSizeAutoscalingScaleDown]", func() {
-		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, 1, 0, func(increasedSize int) {
+		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, f.Namespace.Name, 1, 0, func(increasedSize int) {
 			By("No nodes should be removed")
 			time.Sleep(scaleDownTimeout)
 			nodes := framework.GetReadySchedulableNodesOrDie(f.ClientSet)
@@ -436,7 +436,15 @@ var _ = framework.KubeDescribe("Cluster size autoscaling [Slow]", func() {
 	})
 
 	It("should be able to scale down by draining multiple pods one by one as dictated by pdb[Feature:ClusterSizeAutoscalingScaleDown]", func() {
-		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, 2, 1, func(increasedSize int) {
+		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, f.Namespace.Name, 2, 1, func(increasedSize int) {
+			By("Some node should be removed")
+			framework.ExpectNoError(WaitForClusterSizeFunc(f.ClientSet,
+				func(size int) bool { return size < increasedSize }, scaleDownTimeout))
+		})
+	})
+
+	It("should be able to scale down by draining system pods with pdb[Feature:ClusterSizeAutoscalingScaleDown]", func() {
+		runDrainTest(f, originalSizes, "kube-system", 2, 1, func(increasedSize int) {
 			By("Some node should be removed")
 			framework.ExpectNoError(WaitForClusterSizeFunc(f.ClientSet,
 				func(size int) bool { return size < increasedSize }, scaleDownTimeout))
@@ -492,20 +500,19 @@ func execCmd(args ...string) *exec.Cmd {
 	return exec.Command(args[0], args[1:]...)
 }
 
-func runDrainTest(f *framework.Framework, migSizes map[string]int, podsPerNode, pdbSize int, verifyFunction func(int)) {
+func runDrainTest(f *framework.Framework, migSizes map[string]int, namespace string, podsPerNode, pdbSize int, verifyFunction func(int)) {
 	increasedSize := manuallyIncreaseClusterSize(f, migSizes)
 
 	nodes, err := f.ClientSet.Core().Nodes().List(metav1.ListOptions{FieldSelector: fields.Set{
 		"spec.unschedulable": "false",
 	}.AsSelector().String()})
 	framework.ExpectNoError(err)
-	namespace := f.Namespace.Name
 	numPods := len(nodes.Items) * podsPerNode
 	testId := string(uuid.NewUUID()) // So that we can label and find pods
 	labelMap := map[string]string{"test_id": testId}
-	framework.ExpectNoError(runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f, nodes.Items, podsPerNode, "reschedulable-pods", labelMap))
+	framework.ExpectNoError(runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f, nodes.Items, namespace, podsPerNode, "reschedulable-pods", labelMap))
 
-	defer framework.DeleteRCAndPods(f.ClientSet, f.InternalClientset, f.Namespace.Name, "reschedulable-pods")
+	defer framework.DeleteRCAndPods(f.ClientSet, f.InternalClientset, namespace, "reschedulable-pods")
 
 	By("Create a PodDisruptionBudget")
 	minAvailable := intstr.FromInt(numPods - pdbSize)
@@ -898,7 +905,7 @@ func makeNodeSchedulable(c clientset.Interface, node *v1.Node) error {
 // 3. for each node:
 // 3a. enable scheduling on that node
 // 3b. increase number of replicas in RC by podsPerNode
-func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, podsPerNode int, id string, labels map[string]string) error {
+func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, namespace string, podsPerNode int, id string, labels map[string]string) error {
 	By("Run a pod on each node")
 	for _, node := range nodes {
 		err := makeNodeUnschedulable(f.ClientSet, &node)
@@ -915,7 +922,7 @@ func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, podsPer
 		Client:         f.ClientSet,
 		InternalClient: f.InternalClientset,
 		Name:           id,
-		Namespace:      f.Namespace.Name,
+		Namespace:      namespace,
 		Timeout:        defaultTimeout,
 		Image:          framework.GetPauseImageName(f.ClientSet),
 		Replicas:       0,
@@ -925,7 +932,7 @@ func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, podsPer
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	rc, err := f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(f.Namespace.Name).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
+	rc, err := f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(namespace).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -939,7 +946,7 @@ func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, podsPer
 		// (we retry 409 errors in case rc reference got out of sync)
 		for j := 0; j < 3; j++ {
 			*rc.Spec.Replicas = int32((i + 1) * podsPerNode)
-			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(f.Namespace.Name).Update(rc)
+			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(namespace).Update(rc)
 			if err == nil {
 				break
 			}
@@ -947,14 +954,14 @@ func runReplicatedPodOnEachNode(f *framework.Framework, nodes []v1.Node, podsPer
 				return err
 			}
 			glog.Warningf("Got 409 conflict when trying to scale RC, retries left: %v", 3-j)
-			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(f.Namespace.Name).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
+			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(namespace).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
 
 		err = wait.PollImmediate(5*time.Second, podTimeout, func() (bool, error) {
-			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(f.Namespace.Name).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
+			rc, err = f.ClientSet.Core().ReplicationControllers(namespace).Get(id, metav1.GetOptions{})
 			if err != nil || rc.Status.ReadyReplicas < int32((i+1)*podsPerNode) {
 				return false, nil
 			}