While applying normal brake press. pedal became very hard as vehicle continued to roll ahead. Continued to apply more brake pedal to no avail. Problem continued on return home. Went on-line and discovered other Ranger owners with identical problem. First solution is to pull anti skid fuse to attain normal braking (with loss of speedometer) so you can operate the vehicle. I suspect that the anti-skid system is dumping Hyd. fluid back to reservoir due to a failing component. Under normal conditions of braking,if a speed sensor sensed that one wheel was turning slower than the other (a skid situation) it would route Hyd. fluid back to reservoir to allow the slow wheel to attain the other wheel's speed, therefore preventing a skid situation. I will change the anti-skid sensor in the rear axle and post an update.

Update from Aug 14, 2011: Replaced rear axle sensor 6 mos. ago and re-installed fuse. Original problem still exists. Very frustrating indeed. Since removing the fuse also de-activates the speedometer..I now drive it and use my GPS to get a constant read-out of my present speed. I have normal braking but no anti-lock brakes. Guess I'll have to live with the situation until someone posts a cure!

Dave