TB - Throttle Body
MAF - Mass Air Flow (sensor)

I'm not really sure about plugs and wires as far as an interval is concerned. Some people on here do them every year.

Plug wires can go bad if the silicone insulator gets torn, that would be a great reason to change them. But more common, the constant heating and cooling (since they go between exhaust manifolds) causes the metal core to heat/shrink and it breaks down the metal. This causes an increase in resistance and a less consistant spark I think lol.

I took your guys advice in composing my punch list for preventative maintenance. I just dropped my car at Pep Boys to:
oil change
coolant flush
Change spark plugs and wires
new battery
replace o2 sensor
replace PCV
replace fuel filter

The cost is $522. That ain't cheap, but it'* a fraction of the sales tax on a new car. I imagine half of it was unnecessary, but hopefully my car will continue running like new for at least another couple years.

How would I know if my MAF or TB need replacing?
What'* the best advice about changing the power steering fluid, transmission fluid, the brake fluid, and the transaxial oil if it has never been done on a 1996 SSEi with 68K miles? Is fluid color the best prognosticator? I'm the original owner. i.e. what'* the *real* maintenance schedule, not the minimalist one in the owner'* manual, if you want to to keep your car running tip-top and not wait for failures to occur? I'm not fanatical, but I'm comfortable spending an average of $250 per year on prevention if it really does prevent.

Maf...if its working and not blowing a code u are ok

TB(throttle body) don't need to replace just remove it and give it a good cleaning.

power steering turky baster suck it up put in new(do this like 3-4 times to make shure
it'* all flushed out )

Will the engine coolant temperature sensor degrade over time, or does it simply fail? Are scanner codes a good way of measuring its health?

if your talking about the one thats for the ECM(black and yellow wire),
I simply replace mine, they do lose sensitivity over time,and i think there kinda cheap.

I ended up tacking on a wheel alignment and a transmission fluid change. I thought this article answered my question about fluid change maintenance schedule:

http://www.autotap.com/articles/Prev...s_Filters.html

Interestingly, my subjective impression is that acceleration performance has gone *down* considerably since this tune-up. I'm guessing the reason is that perhaps I was running rich before the tune-up. Ironic, isn't it? A tune-up brings your car into congruence with emission controls, which are evidently in conflict with performance. The air is cleaner, but you are slower. I doubt the better gas mileage will pay for the tune-up costs. Bottom line: be careful what you ask for. You might get it.

For this reason, if I had it to do over again, I would *not* replace the O2 sensor.

By the way, is there a "breather filter" on an SSEi? I read in the above maintenance link that if you replace the PCV, you should replace the breather filter also.

Give your computer a few days to relearn all the new sensors before concluding that performance has gone down. Why would you not replace the 02 sensor? That is the number two cause of poor milage, second to a heavy foot. At 68K, you should not expect an improvement in performance from a regular tune-up.

try some fuel injector cleaner, it'* around $8 for Lucas stabilizer and it helped my car out with small performance improvement