Exhaust manifold gasket question

I believe I'm being cheated at a local chain for a state inspection. The same shop has inspected all my vehicles for years - I left off two vehicles last week for the required annual Maine inspection. The shop claims the exhaust manifold gaskets are leaking and need to be replaced in order to get a sticker. They claim they can find a gasket for one side but not the other. I can see, hear, and smell no evidence of any exhaust leak. I also suspect the left and right side gaskets are interchangeable. This same shop had inspected this same vehicle one year and 800 miles ago - the truck mostly lives in a heated garage. Besides spending money for a repair that isn't needed I can expect some broken bolts, nuts, and damage resulting from trying to remove the factory exhaust manifolds after 30 years.
I took both vehicles back uninspected and made an appointment at another shop... but it won't be for another week before I can get in.
What do you folks think? Am I being cheated? I do much of my own work but inspection stickers I can't do...

Something smells to me...... & I don't smell your exhaust!
Just replaced my pass side exhaust gasket & IIRC the set had identical gaskets for both sides.
You tell 2nd shop what 1st shop said..... I wouldn't.
How long you got before inspection expires?
However you could do your civic duty & have the first shop do all that expensive work & you pay them...... that way they can stay in rich easy business! hahaha

My longtime smog mech (20+ yrs) went from
I'm gunna make it pass
To
You need a cat...
Twice in a row, the first cat passed the sniffer just fine, the second one I did myself.

Some time ago, so sounds like time to look elsewhere

If I remember right the gaskets are same side to side.

Here's what you can do to test at home. On a cold engine, soak the manifold in soapy water. Have someone start it up, and watch it. You'll see bubbles before it gets hot enough to boil the soapy water off.

In another way to deal with this, ask em to show you the failure points when this happens...

Example
You
Show me...
Them no we cannot let you on the shop floor for insurance purposes.
You
Take it outside.
They will give you your real answer then....

I don’t think you can even buy the gaskets separately, only as a set. And they sure do look identical to me. Maybe ask them for part numbers for the left and right sides and watch them squirm lol.

I don’t think it’s uncommon for the manifold bolts to loosen up though. When I’ve read people’s experiences doing head gaskets, some have said they found them loose. On these trucks any exhaust leaks should be easy to spot because there will be black soot all around it.

The no customers on the shop floor is a weak excuse. Whenever I take my cars to Firestone they have no problem letting me out there as long as I'm chaperoned, and the same applies at my work. Employee with customer at all time, but if someone wants to see a failure, show 'em!

Kinda my point

So I was cleaning my garage, and found a used exhaust manifold gasket.







It's symmetrical....

Well that shop is correct, they do have a right and left side. Just turn them over.

These State Inspection Shops must rake the customer`s over, over nit picky stuff, And rake in a bundle of money that doesn`t need to be spent.
The average vehicle owner really doesn`t have a clue about maintaining them, and does let a lot of maintenance things go. So I can see a safety value to these yearly inspections, especially in the Rust belt areas.

Grease Monkey at the Inspection Shop says " You have yada, yada, yada wrong" Owner says "OK fix it". All he wants is his safety sticker so he can get on with life....what ever the cost.

@Greenie , Tighten up the Exhaust Manifold bolts, and I bet that will fix the problem.

I pulled parts off a 93 7.3 last Summer. Pulled both EX manifolds, and I think every Bolt was loose.


Goat

The idis are one of the best motors I’ve been around for the manifold gaskets, they are just metal so they don’t blow out and from factory they use antiseize so they always come right out never broken one, I’ve had them leak before but it was just because it was loose retorqued and ready to rock

I’m thankfully I’ve never had to get any of my vehicles tested