Blinking red is generally linked to hardware problems (like the power supply not being able to keep up - try quickly flicking the switch on the back off then on while the console is running, instant blinking red light)
The "tools to open a PS3" are a dotted-torx screwdriver and two phillips screwdrivers (add an oil painting spatula of the appropriate shape if you want to remove the IHS - but I agree it's probably not the issue here), nothing you can't afford if you have a Five Hundred and Ninety-Nine U.S. Dollar console