diff --git a/manifest/kubernetes/rhel/ncp-rhel.yaml b/manifest/kubernetes/rhel/ncp-rhel.yaml
index 9b5fee57..bcd82874 100644
--- a/manifest/kubernetes/rhel/ncp-rhel.yaml
+++ b/manifest/kubernetes/rhel/ncp-rhel.yaml
@@ -649,12 +649,15 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+          # liveness.DEFAULT_LIVENESS_TIMEOUT bounds the in-process deep check
+          # below timeoutSeconds, so a wedged check surfaces as a probe
+          # failure rather than a kubelet client timeout.
           livenessProbe:
-            exec:
-              command:
-                - /bin/sh
-                - -c
-                - check_pod_liveness nsx-ncp 30
+            httpGet:
+              path: /healthz
+              port: 8086
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              scheme: HTTP
             initialDelaySeconds: 5
             timeoutSeconds: 30
             periodSeconds: 10
diff --git a/manifest/kubernetes/ubuntu/ncp-ubuntu.yaml b/manifest/kubernetes/ubuntu/ncp-ubuntu.yaml
index 30dd4664..3e14f009 100644
--- a/manifest/kubernetes/ubuntu/ncp-ubuntu.yaml
+++ b/manifest/kubernetes/ubuntu/ncp-ubuntu.yaml
@@ -649,12 +649,15 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+          # liveness.DEFAULT_LIVENESS_TIMEOUT bounds the in-process deep check
+          # below timeoutSeconds, so a wedged check surfaces as a probe
+          # failure rather than a kubelet client timeout.
           livenessProbe:
-            exec:
-              command:
-                - /bin/sh
-                - -c
-                - check_pod_liveness nsx-ncp 30
+            httpGet:
+              path: /healthz
+              port: 8086
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              scheme: HTTP
             initialDelaySeconds: 5
             timeoutSeconds: 30
             periodSeconds: 10
diff --git a/manifest/openshift4/coreos/ncp-openshift4.yaml b/manifest/openshift4/coreos/ncp-openshift4.yaml
index 99611a1d..7d190f40 100644
--- a/manifest/openshift4/coreos/ncp-openshift4.yaml
+++ b/manifest/openshift4/coreos/ncp-openshift4.yaml
@@ -587,12 +587,15 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+          # liveness.DEFAULT_LIVENESS_TIMEOUT bounds the in-process deep check
+          # below timeoutSeconds, so a wedged check surfaces as a probe
+          # failure rather than a kubelet client timeout.
           livenessProbe:
-            exec:
-              command:
-                - /bin/sh
-                - -c
-                - check_pod_liveness nsx-ncp 30
+            httpGet:
+              path: /healthz
+              port: 8086
+              host: 127.0.0.1
+              scheme: HTTP
             initialDelaySeconds: 5
             timeoutSeconds: 30
             periodSeconds: 10