I experienced a near-identical issue with a SRAM Force 22 derailleur a couple years ago. At the time my derailleur had well over 10K miles of use and as I understand it it was simply wearing out. Overtime the pin/spindle that holds the cage into the body of the derailleur had worn down allowing that lateral play. It also caused less-accurate shifting. There is a large spring inside the derailleur body provides the torsional loading to the cage (so that it tensions the chain), as the spindle wears down the spring is able to push the cage out, hence why you can push it in and it pops back.
I did find through endless Google searches someone who put together a guide on how to repair it yourself, but alas I can’t find it now. I didn’t attempt to repair my derailleur. I was able to send my derailleur back to SRAM through a local bike shop as it was under warranty, SRAM acknowledged that it was faulty and sent me a replacement for free.
I think this screw is holding the cage in its place, right? Removing it will loosening the cage/spring? See [https://youtu.be/CiL3R9w1HCk?si=OTXFx2M5sEx0KbDG](https://youtu.be/CiL3R9w1HCk?si=OTXFx2M5sEx0KbDG)
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I experienced a near-identical issue with a SRAM Force 22 derailleur a couple years ago. At the time my derailleur had well over 10K miles of use and as I understand it it was simply wearing out. Overtime the pin/spindle that holds the cage into the body of the derailleur had worn down allowing that lateral play. It also caused less-accurate shifting. There is a large spring inside the derailleur body provides the torsional loading to the cage (so that it tensions the chain), as the spindle wears down the spring is able to push the cage out, hence why you can push it in and it pops back.
I did find through endless Google searches someone who put together a guide on how to repair it yourself, but alas I can’t find it now. I didn’t attempt to repair my derailleur. I was able to send my derailleur back to SRAM through a local bike shop as it was under warranty, SRAM acknowledged that it was faulty and sent me a replacement for free.
https://preview.redd.it/mxht6buvylee1.jpeg?width=3060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d9fa80d8338a6fbbba842674e3330bd2e6b0e00
I think this screw is holding the cage in its place, right? Removing it will loosening the cage/spring? See [https://youtu.be/CiL3R9w1HCk?si=OTXFx2M5sEx0KbDG](https://youtu.be/CiL3R9w1HCk?si=OTXFx2M5sEx0KbDG)