Aiming at design loss and premature tooth wear on lubrication of the modified super-large modulus gear-rack in Three Gorges ship lift，the lubrication characteristics of the drive system was investigated under low-speed and overload. A transient thermal-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) model was developed for the gear-rack drive system. The transient TEHL model under variable velocity among the line of action is solved by multi-grid method and FFT method. Then，the influence of speed and load， modification coefficient，modulus and pressure angle on the contact pressure，film thickness and tooth surface friction， modification coefficient，modulus and pressure angle during the process from start to normal operation is investigated. The results show that the film thickness becomes thinner and the friction force is larger during the gear engagement stage，which causes the rack top easy to wear. It is found that the harder the surface material，the worse the lubrication performance. When the modification coefficient，modulus，pressure angle and viscosity are increased，the lubricating property can be improved.