JimX
to be honest ive had this problem myself and its not the thrust bearing, its a plastic part rubbing against the part thats connected to the thrust bearing (well not exactly connected to it), we replaced the thrust bearing and noticed that this other plastic part was rubbing on a metal part and had a bit of buildup of grime on it. this part is connected to the clutch pedal booster (or something that makes it go forward n back)
it didnt tick for a while after we cleaned it, but a few months later it came back