MD2 file export normals problem

I'm trying to make some MD2 models for a friend of mine, the problem im having is that no matter what exporter I use the normal direction of the polygons isnts always consistent with what is displayed. Even in different versions of max i have the same problem. It seems to be mostly mirrored objects. They display correctly in max, but then the side that was mirrored has the wrong side of all its polygons clear. I can fix it by flipping the normals but this gets confusing because then it doesnt display correctly in max. Is there a way to tell what way it is facing according to whatever part of the model decides how it will export in MD2? Its been a very persistant problem.