Ford 655C backhoe – specifications
Series: Other models
Build year not documented · Data origin: Reference work (Wikipedia/Wikibooks) · sources
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The Ford 655C backhoe sits in the development line of Ford backhoe loaders between the 655B and the 655D. These machines carry a loader bucket at the front and a digger at the rear; they were meant for earthworks on building sites, in cable and pipe laying and in horticulture, where one vehicle handles both tasks.
On the 655C a water-cooled diesel drives the rear axle only; there is no four-wheel drive here, which sets it apart from the Ford 655 backhoe with selectable four-wheel drive. That drive layout was the rule for older backhoe loaders, because the tractor base and the digger were designed around weight on the rear axle.
The line later continued under the New Holland name after Ford gave up its tractor business; the entry names the 655D as its successor. The water-cooled diesel supplies both travel drive and working hydraulics, so loader and rear digger run from a single power source.
Ford – other models: the collective page of backhoe loaders and compact loaders outside the named ranges, 450 to 655C backhoe and CL30 skid-steer, 22 to 48 kW, Ford and Wisconsin engines
This page gathers the Ford construction machines the register could not assign to a named range – backhoe loaders and one compact loader. Ford's construction equipment division built the 450 to 655 backhoe range, whose last digits mark the power class and the letter A or B the generation; the division merged into Fiat-Hitachi and later New Holland Construction in 1991 as part of the merger with Fiat's construction equipment business. The CL30 is a skid-steer compact loader from the same range.
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The register lists here 7 versions with 22 to 48 kW (30 to 65 hp), with engines from Ford and Wisconsin, mostly diesel.
Ford's 550 and 655 backhoe loaders were, in the 1980s and 1990s, alongside JCB and Case among the common construction machines on building sites in North America and Europe, and mark the era before Ford sold its construction equipment business to Fiat and later New Holland.
On the 550 and 655 range's backhoe arm, the bucket can be swapped via a mechanical or hydraulic quick coupler, allowing a change between trenching, digging and slope buckets without removing the pivot pins; on the front loader end, the same quick-hitch mount takes pallet forks or a snow blade.
On used backhoe loaders, the condition of the excavator arm and loader bucket, hydraulic cylinders and hoses, transmission and axles, and frame cracks at the pivot points count; spares now run through the successor network of New Holland Construction and independent construction-equipment dealers.
Sources: SpecCodex register, model data: Ford Pozostale modele (Bagger & Verdichtung)
Technical data
Engine
| Fuel | dieselcorrect |
|---|---|
| Cooling | water-cooledcorrect |
Drivetrain and chassis
| Drive | rear-wheel driveWDcorrect |
|---|
Other data
| Predecessor | Ford 655B backhoecorrect |
|---|---|
| Successor | Ford 655D backhoecorrect |
What to check before buying
- Check the hour meter against the service records — a replaced instrument is the most common gap.
- Compare the data plate and chassis number with the papers.
- Load the hydraulics and watch for sag.
- Ask about parts availability for this build year — the running costs hang on it.
A general list for this type of machine — no substitute for an inspection or an appraiser.
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This page carries 9 individual figures for this model. They come from 2 recorded sources; every figure can be traced there. What we cannot document is not here — we leave gaps open rather than estimate them.
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Sources: Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki (CC BY-SA 3.0) (retrieved October 2026) · Values adopted and presented in our own form; changes from the source are possible. · Data sources and cross-checks
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